Zootopia: Racing on the Wilde Side
by MichaelVWilson
Summary: This story begins exactly where the movie ended, with Nick and Judy giving Flash Slothmore a speeding ticket. But why is a sloth racing? And what does it have to do with other mammals searching for the "thrill of the hunt"? It also covers the ongoing romance between Nick and Judy as they try to solve the mystery.
1. Chapter 1

Zootopia

Racing on the Wilde Side

Chapter 1

"Flash, Flash, hundred yard dash!" Nick exclaimed in unabashed delight at the discovery that the street racer tearing up Savannah Central was Flash Slothmore, his friend from the DMV. Despite Judy's somewhat more law-and-order outlook on life, he could tell she was fairly amused as well. The incongruity of a sloth being a high speed street racer tickled her funny bone. She fought to keep her face straight as she pulled out her ticket book.

Flash handed over his driver's license and registration – slowly of course – then waited patiently as she wrote his ticket. "115 in a 35 mph zone," she noted lightly. "You're looking at a pretty hefty fine, there big fella. I hope it was worth it. Where were you going in such a hurry?" she asked as she tore off the ticket and handed it to him. Nick cocked his head with interest. He was curious too. What could induce a sloth (!) to move at such speeds?

"Meeting . . . my . . . friend . . . Lance," Flash answered with his customarily molasses-like manner. A green sports car with blue lightning on the sides shot past them just then. The wind from it's passage nearly pulled Nick and Judy off their feet. "There . . . he . . . goes," he added.

After a stunned moment, they sprang into action, racing for their squad car. "Stay out of trouble!" Nick shouted out the window at Flash as they peeled out, tires squealing and laying down rubber. Their quarry turned this way and that trying to shake them, but Judy stayed on his tail with grim determination, a wild gleam in her eyes as she fought the wheel, wrestling them around corners. Nick laughed wildly, "Go get 'em, Carrots! Left! Left, left, left!" he shouted, hanging on to the safety bar, as Lance tried to circle around behind them. The tires kicked up loose gravel as they spun recklessly around the streets. Lance must have finally realized he couldn't shake them and pulled over on a dusty side street in Sahara Square. Judy and Nick high-fived each other exuberantly, blood pumping in their veins.

"Woo hoo!" Judy exulted. "We got 'em!" She bounced out of the car, and practically danced her way up to the driver's window of the sports car. "License, registration, and proof of insurance," she chirped brightly at the sour-faced beaver sitting behind the wheel.

"Lance Furbur!" Nick exclaimed in recognition.

"You know him?" Judy asked as she began writing the ticket.

Nick favored her with his patented, patronizing smile. "I told you, I know everybody." He gestured at the beaver. "He's a gear head who went straight. He owns several auto parts stores around town, don't ya, old buddy?" He directed that last to Lance.

"Buddy?" the beaver growled in an irritated voice. "You went straighter than I ever did! Finnick told me you became a cop, but I didn't believe it until now." He shook his head in disbelief. "Whatever possessed you to do a thing like that?"

Nick tried to keep his eyes from flicking toward Judy but didn't quite make it. Fortunately, Lance didn't appear to notice. "Let's just say I had my reasons," he smiled. His heart was still pumping from the exhilaration of the chase, and Judy appeared to be the same; her color was high and her scent was tinged with pheromones bespeaking her own, aroused excitement. She looked up and caught him staring at her; she smiled brightly at him, her eyes dancing. Nick smiled back then forced himself to look away from her beauty, a beauty that seemed to grow every time he saw her. And why did she have to smell so good? He shook his head to clear it. "So how come you and Flash are roaring around town like a couple of whirling dervishes? He said he was on his way to meet you when we pulled him over."

Lance shrugged. "It's hard to explain," he said. "It only started a few months ago when a bunch of us were sitting around grumbling about getting old, lazy, and fat because we were so civilized; bored really. Then someone started bragging about how fast their car was, and someone else challenged 'em to prove it, and . . . I dunno," he waved an uncertain paw in the air, "one thing led to another and pretty soon all of us were racing each other." His expression lit up. "And it's the wildest thing ever!" he said excitedly. "It gets your heart going, wakes you up, makes you feel twenty years younger! It's great!" he enthused. "It's almost like being back in the jungle all over again; the _thrill of the hunt_ I call it. They tell us we're evolved but we're not all that civilized because we still hurt each other and stuff. Well, I think it's the other way around; we're civilized, but we're not all that evolved. There's still a lot of the old animal left in us." He glanced at Nick and Judy by turns. "Come on," he urged them, "tell the truth; when you were chasing me just now, didn't you feel it?"

Nick barely hesitated. "Yeah," he admitted, "it was kinda fun."

Judy thought back to her first _hot pursuit_ , chasing Duke Weaselton when he stole the night howlers, her relief at getting out of the "three-wheeled joke-mobile," as Nick called it, and into the game. As dangerous as it had been, she'd never felt so alive in all her life before that moment. Then over and over again during the investigation of the _missing mammals_ , she and Nick had been thrust into one high-stakes chase, or escape, or battle after another. Throughout it all she'd felt the same sense of overpowering excitement and joy. She smiled shyly. "I loved it!" She poked Nick in the shoulder. "And so did you," she told him. "I saw you grinning like a hyena the whole time." She wasn't just guessing either; she'd been able to hear his heart pounding in his chest in time with hers throughout the whole thing. His wonderful heart, she caught herself thinking.

He shuddered. "Have you ever seen a hyena grin? Their oral hygiene is terrible."

She punched him again.

"Ow! Okay, okay," he capitulated, "it was fun." He let himself go and grinned. "Actually it was a blast!"

Judy laughed and finished writing the ticket, then handed it to Lance, demanding that he promise to knock off the racing. He nodded and took it with good grace, even after seeing the price range for the fine. "But you know the funny part?" he asked, putting everything away.

Nick cocked his head questioningly. "What?"

"Since we started doing this, I actually feel younger and stronger overall," Lance told them with wonder in his voice. "It's like it stirs up our hormones or something; I don't know. I just know I feel better and more alive than I have in years. And I have to tell you, this _thrill of the hunt_ thing?; it's addictive, it's _really_ addictive!" He started up his car and the big v-8 engine came to life with a deep, satisfying rumble of high octane power. He put it in gear. "See you around!" He took off with a roar.

Judy stared after him. "You know, I believe we will be seeing him around again," she mused meditatively. "Probably the next time we give him a ticket," she giggled lightly.

"Well Carrots, he did say it was addictive," Nick agreed, making his way back to their squad car. He radioed in that they'd given out two 10-94 (drag racing) tickets. Dispatch gave them a 10-4 and told them to stay on patrol in Savannah Central. Other calls came and Nick turned the volume down so they could hear themselves over it.

Judy got their car turned around and headed back to Savannah Central. "What do you think about that _thrill of the hunt_ thing he was talking about?" she asked. "I mean, I have to admit, it really **was** a lot of fun chasing him down."

"Almost as much fun as carrying you up and down the stairs," Nick agreed with a knowing smile.

Judy blushed.

After Bellwether's arrest, Nick had taken her to the hospital to get her leg taken care of. Bogo had appeared in the ER with her badge and most of the ZPD officers in tow. After welcoming her back from her "vacation" he returned the badge to her with gruff instructions not to lose it again. Then he put her on medical leave until she could return to active duty. She did her best not to tear up, gripping Nick's paw so hard she'd left nail marks that lasted nearly a week. After everyone finished crowding around to congratulate her and Nick (!), on solving the case, Bogo shooed everyone out, then Nick drove her home in her parent's truck.

Because of her injuries, he'd insisted on carrying her upstairs in his arms to her room each night, and bringing her back down the same way each morning. Her brothers and sisters giggled and laughed at her expense every time, but later they turned to suggestive oohs and aahs as it became obvious she enjoyed being in his arms. Her parents had overcome their aversion to foxes well enough to let him have a guest room during her convalescence, the first fox to ever sleep under their roof. Between that and her increasingly unmistakable affection for him, her brothers and sisters had progressed to calling him Uncle Nicky by the time they left. The fact he was surprisingly good with kids made it even easier.

She'd long since defaulted on the lease of her first place at the Grand Pangolin Arms Apartments. Nick worked the phones until he found her a new apartment at the Covington Arms, a Downtown high rise. Founded nearly a hundred years ago by a group of retired police officers, the Covington Arms Company had apartment buildings in every district in Zootopia, always with a few apartments held in reserve for any police officer who needed one. Nick got her an apartment on the 16th floor, Apartment 1603, complete with a parking space for the family truck, which her parents had now given her as a present. He got himself an apartment on the 17th floor, number 1714.

After she went back on duty, and he went to the Academy, she'd come to visit him every weekend, bringing him home to his place, then taking him back again every Monday morning.

Glancing sideways at him now, sitting there with the wind ruffling his fur, and that infuriating, but charming smirk on his handsome face, she couldn't help but wonder at their relationship. His quip that she knew she loved him, had caught her by surprise. But even more surprising was her own response, "Do I know that? Yes, yes I do." Before they'd had time to digest the implications, Flash had come roaring past, then Lance. In a way she was glad. Predator-prey relationships were fraught with peril, not the least of which was the near-total lack of social acceptance. She wasn't sure she wanted to talk about it just yet.

"Aside from carrying me around like a sack of potatoes, what about that _thrill of the hunt_ thing?" she persisted. "Do you think there's anything to it?"

Nick could still smell her arousal. If anything it was growing stronger, but since it was obvious she didn't want to go there, he followed her lead. "Actually, darlin', I kinda do," he drawled. "It makes sense in a way. We're civilized, but maybe not as evolved as we like to think, the way he said. Otherwise the night howlers wouldn't have been able to affect us. Mister Big said pretty much the same thing too, remember? So yeah, the _thrill of the hunt_? I can see it."

"The night howlers?" Judy frowned in cute puzzlement. "What have they got to do with it?" She stopped at a red light. Both of them automatically surveyed all the cars in the intersection for any defects or illegal modifications. Finding none, they turned back to their conversation as they waited for the light to change.

"Well you know how it is, Fluff. Most drugs make mammals go crazy thinking they can fly, or beat their head on a wall, or babble like idiots, or whatever," he reminded her. She nodded. Their training at the Academy had been very thorough when it came to the affects of illegal drugs. "But the night howlers are different," he continued. The light changed and she pulled away. "They actually make mammals go completely savage, like they never evolved at all; down on all fours, growling, snarling, can't talk or use their paws, completely out of control with mindless rage and hunger. It's a whole different ballgame." He shook his head. "But how is that possible if we're so evolved like we've been taught?"

They were back in Savannah Central; she turned down a street at random, cruising around looking for trouble. "I see what you mean," she agreed. "And the affects of most drugs wear off after a while, but with the night howlers they actually had to develop an antidote to bring the mammals back to themselves."

"Exactly! So if we were really as evolved as they say we are, the night howlers shouldn't be able to affect us like that," he concluded with a verbal flourish. She laughed at his mild conceit, then let go of the wheel for a moment to applaud him. He bowed, sitting down. "Thank you, thank you very much," he said in his best imitation of an Elvis Presstley voice. He went on a moment later. "But since they **do** affect us, it means we're not as evolved as we think, which means we can still get carried away by the _thrill of the hunt_ like Lance was talking about." He forbore to mention he could smell her excitement, which further supported his conclusion.

Judy wondered what he was holding back. Bunny hearing was so sharp it was almost like a lie detector when they were this close to someone; picking up the little catches in a mammal's voice, the change in their heart rate, the way they breathed – all the little things that gave away the truthfulness, or lack thereof, of their words. Nick wasn't lying, but there was something he wasn't telling her, something that made his heart race. Was it something about her? About her declaration that she knew she loved him?

His nose twitched as he detected a sudden surge in pheromones in the car. He reflected on what might be exciting her. Could it be him?

They finished their shift in comfortable companionship, not realizing they were simply basking in each others presence. After returning to the station and finishing their paperwork for the day they headed down to the employee parking garage. "Do you want to come over for dinner?" Judy asked him as they made the short drive to the Downtown Covington Arms.

"Sure," he answered. "What's on the menu? You?" he said with a fake leer.

She laughed. She parked the truck and they got out. "After we get changed I need to run down to the grocery store for a couple of things."

"My shelves are a little bare too," he smiled. "I'll go with you."

She perked up. "That sounds a lot better than going by myself. Where's a good place to get fresh fish?" she asked as they rode the elevator to her floor. Although her parents liked to pretend they were strictly vegetarians, they'd never turned down fried catfish or the occasional rock cod. Just as predators had begun eating vegetables on a regular basis (witness Nick's fondness for blueberries), prey had taken to fish, and sometimes fowl, just as regularly. Over time their diets had converged until they were practically indistinguishable.

"Tundratown," he answered without hesitation. "Fishtown Market has fresh fish every day. They get them from the fishing boats down on the docks each morning. It's different every day so you never know what they'll have."

"Oooh," Judy exclaimed as the elevator doors opened with a chime. "Sounds fun. Meet me in ten minutes and we'll head over there."

"Fluff, I'll be ready before you are," he challenged her with a smile.

"Ha!" she laughed. "You still have to go up another floor, and I'm already here!" She sprinted down the hall to her apartment.

Nick already had his tie off and his shirt unbuttoned when he reached his floor, then took two giant steps across the hall to his own apartment. He grinned to himself. She didn't realize his place was directly across from the elevator, while hers was at the far end of the hall on her floor. The contest was more even than she knew. He tossed his uniform shirt and tie aside as he came in the door, hopping down the short hall to his bedroom as he took off his pants and flung them in the general direction of the dirty clothes hamper; he didn't bother to check if they made it.

Judy peeled off her uniform with lightning speed. The whole time he'd been in the Academy, she'd been anticipating his arrival on the ZPD, when they could see each other every day and every night, instead of having to wait for the weekends. Now it was here, her heart was pounding like a kettle drum. She flung open her closet, all her new clothes neatly arranged in tidy rows on their hangers. One evening while Nick was at the Academy, she'd wandered down to the clothing district out of boredom and run into Fru Fru, Mister Big's daughter. After cooing over baby Judy, her goddaughter, she turned to leave but Fru Fru insisted on helping her shop for clothes. The expedition turned out so well it had become a once-a-week tradition, with the result that she now had an entire closet full of new clothes with which to dazzle Nick. She already knew what she wanted to wear today. She called it her Wizard of Ooze look.

Nick's clothing decisions were simplicity itself; he put on what he almost always did, green shirt, striped tie, and tan colored pants. He grabbed his keys and wallet, and was out the door in a trice. His only concern was the elevator. If someone else was using it, he'd have to wait for it. Luck was with him though and the doors opened as soon as he pressed the button. He pumped his fist in the air. Yes! He skipped in and pressed the button for Judy's floor. He ignored the pounding of his heart, as well as the possible reasons for it. Never mind that, he told himself; just enjoy the moment.

The doors opened and Judy was standing there waiting. His eyes widened. She was wearing a white, off-the-shoulder peasant blouse, with a blue-and-white gingham dress over it. The silky material fell gracefully to just above her knees; not too short, but not too long either. There were ruby red bracelets around each ankle. She was like a vision from heaven. He shook his head. "You look like an angel." She blushed and he realized he'd said it out loud. Oh well, he thought, in for a penny, in for a pound. He held out his arm for her. "You do look like an angel," he reiterated as she placed a gentle paw on his arm and stepped into the elevator. The doors closed and she filled the tiny space with her wonderful scent. "And smell even better," he added warmly.

The only thing she heard in his voice was truth, wrapped in warm caring like a hot towel. She almost felt like she was bathing in his words. She shivered and cuddled next to him. When the doors opened on the lobby they strolled out, arm-in-arm. It wasn't until they reached the parking garage that they regretfully separated so she could drive.

Neither of them noticed the traffic camera down the street, peering directly into the glass enclosed lobby of the building.

 **For more of my writing, visit my web site**

 **Scribe of Texas (all one word, no spaces) period, then the letters c-o-m**


	2. Chapter 2

Zootopia

Racing on the Wilde Side

Chapter 2

Judy shivered as she showered, getting ready for the day. She'd come so close to kissing Nick in public last night it scared her. Whatever their feelings for each other – and she wasn't going to deny them – the reaction of the general public to a predator-prey kiss, in the middle of the fish market no less, was one she didn't care to tempt a second time. He'd put his arm around her waist while looking over the selection, she'd turned to ask him his opinion at the same time he turned toward her, and they'd wound up less than an inch apart. She been able to taste his breath, flooding her senses with his presence. She'd nearly closed the remaining distance between them when she heard a gasp of disbelief from a female pig waiting in line behind them. Realization washed over both of them and they jumped back, laughing nervously about how they'd nearly run into each other. They couldn't tell if the pig, her eyes wide and staring, had believed them or not, but she left without saying anything. They hadn't dared look anyone else in the face.

They spent the rest of the night barely speaking. They sat on opposite sides of the table, taking care not to touch. The fine food tasted like sawdust in her mouth. Several times she'd started to talk about what happened, about their relationship, but she could never make herself take the first step. A couple of times she thought he was about to, but if so, he stopped himself. After he left she went to bed and cried herself to sleep for the first time she could ever remember.

She forced herself to eat breakfast, then trudged down the hall to the elevator, dreading but anticipating his presence when the doors opened, but it was empty. Not sure what to feel, she pressed the button for the lobby; she'd wait for him there. It was probably safer that way.

The doors opened and she saw him immediately. He was standing by the front window, looking out, hands in his pockets, slumped and dejected. Her heart went out to him and she wanted to run throw her arms around him, but she forced herself to take her time and walk. She saw him sniff the air. He greeted her without turning. His voice sounded dead and dry. She fought back tears. When she reached him she found he was hiding behind his cop glasses, the dark, wrap-around shades obscuring his eyes and much of his face. He turned for the garage, leaving her to trail miserably behind.

"Nick!" she called desperately. "Please, don't do this to us!" She hurried after him, nearly blinded by the tears she could no longer keep back. He disappeared through the door and she sobbed trying to catch up with him.

She ran through the door and a sudden paw grabbed her by the arm, another one covering her mouth as he pushed her up against the wall, his glasses forgotten on the floor. "Do you have any idea what you do to me?" he whispered fiercely. "Do you have any clue how much it ripped me apart to have to pull away from you last night? How ashamed I felt when I saw that pig staring at us like we were a couple of monsters?" He stopped abruptly, shaking his head. He pushed himself away from her and staggered over to lean against one of the support columns for the ceiling. He shook his head again. "That's not what I wanted to say," he gritted between clenched teeth. "I stayed up rehearsing it all night last night . . . and the moment I saw you it all went right out the window." He pounded his fists on the concrete pillar behind him. "Look at me, I'm a mess," he declared with a miserable laugh. "I can't even say the right thing!"

She took one step toward him, then couldn't remember taking the others, but suddenly she was in his arms, her head on his chest, hugging him for all she was worth, hanging on for dear life, crying and sobbing. Her whole body was shaking from the force of her sobs. His arms were around her. His voice whispering in her ears, his breath hot on her face. They stood that way, feeling their hearts beating as one for an unguessable time. They would have gone on standing there if not for . . .

 _Beep, beep, beep_.

Judy glanced at her phone then gasped in fear. "Nick! We have five minutes to get to roll call!"

"Fang it!" he cursed. He scooped up his glasses and shoved her toward the truck. "Let's go!"

Thanks to their apartment's proximity to headquarters, they made it with only seconds to spare, sliding into their seats just as Chief Bogo pushed through the door into the bull pen. They were huffing and puffing from their run up from the employee parking and through the building. If he noticed, he chose to ignore it.

After going through a few notices he paused. His scowl deepened. "Doug Ramses, former Mayor Bellwether's assistant and partner in crime, was spotted in Tundratown last night." A shock ran through the room.

Nick and Judy exchanged worried glances, their personal problems forgotten for the moment. Doug was the chemist who'd synthesized the night howler serum that had driven mammals savage. He was also the sniper who'd delivered the serum from long range to his targets. His two cohorts, Woolter and Jesse, had chased the train car when they'd taken off with it, but they been defeated in the fight and eventually arrested. Doug however, stayed behind and managed to slip away. He was still at large but everyone assumed he'd left town. The idea he was still in Zootopia was deeply troubling.

Bogo was still talking. "A night guard spotted him robbing a company called, Cold Times, the refrigeration company that helps maintain the Environment Wall between Tundratown and Sahara Square. As far as we know, the only thing he took was a cylinder of liquid nitrogen." A confused babble filled the room. "Shut it!" Bogo roared. "We don't know why he wants something like that, BUT, he's an experienced chemist, so it could be really bad. Whatever he's up to, it isn't good. So . . . before any of you go out today, I want to know if you've all got your antidote shots? Raise your paw if you have."

About half of them raised their paws, Nick and Judy among them. The night howler antidote provided an immunization to the serum Doug had concocted, protecting them from going savage if they were darted with it.

Bogo growled with anger. "I told you weeks ago to get those shots," he roared. "They're provided free of charge to all police officers, so there's no reason for you not to get them. If Ramses still has any of his serum, or has made more, the last thing we need is one of you going savage out there on the streets!" He paused to collect himself. "Those of you who've had your shots, get out there by and patrol the city You're gonna be spread thin so stay alert. Hopps! Wilde! The two of you are the only ones who've had any contact with Ramses. Take the lead out there. Any and all sightings are to be reported to them. Clear?" He ran an angry gaze over the room. They all nodded. "Good. The rest of you slackers, get down to medical for your shots. It's gonna make you weak as a kitten for the rest of the day so go home . . . BUT you're getting docked THREE days pay! One for today, and two for not following orders to get them when you were told!" Subdued groans filled the air. "Now get going!" He turned and stomped out.

His voice floated back down the hall. "Hopps! Wilde! My office! Now!"

They exchanged a _Now What?_ look and scurried after him. As soon as they came in he slammed the door and locked it. He saw their expressions and waved them to a chair. "Oh sit down," he grumbled in a tired voice. "I'm not going to tear your heads off." He plopped himself in his own chair behind his desk. He stared off into space for a long moment before speaking. "Contrary to all that . . ." he inclined his head toward the bull pen, ". . . I'm not really worried about Ramses, at least not today. Whatever he's up to, it's going to take him some time to get it ready or prepared. But, it gave me an excuse to A) make sure everyone got their shots, and B) talk to the two of you without raising any suspicions."

They stared at him, then each other, completely lost.

He smiled sardonically, then reached around behind him and pulled a picture off the wall. He set it before them. In it, a younger Bogo and an unusually handsome tiger stood side-by-side in patrol uniforms, their arms slung around each others shoulders, a squad car behind them. They were grinning like fools at the camera. "Tyrone Stripeson," he told them. "My old partner, the best police officer you'd ever want to meet. Until he met Gazelle," he added sadly.

Judy blinked with surprise. "Gazelle?"

Bogo nodded. "It was before she was famous, didn't even have her stage name back then. She was a part-time waitress and lounge singer. Tyrone liked to dance. Always did. After work he'd drag me to these night clubs and bars to go dancing. The ladies loved him," he said with an amused shake of his head, "he never sat out a single dance. Then he found this new place, called the High Spot, and Gazelle was there, waiting tables and singing. She watched him dancing while she sang, and one night when it was slow, she invited him up on stage to dance with her while she sang." Bogo shook his head fondly at the memory. "Even then you could see they had something special going on between them. Between sets they spent all their time together. He even started helping her carry stuff when she was waiting tables, just so he could be with her. Predator-prey couples aren't exactly popular, so I kept telling him to cool it, but he wouldn't listen."

Nick felt frozen in place. As soon as Bogo mentioned predator-prey, he felt himself go stiff as a board. He couldn't move. Beside him, Judy stiffened as well.

If Bogo noticed their reaction he ignored it and kept going. "One night there was this polar bear from Tundratown, a creep named Hund Gunter; he kept after Gazelle to sing one of his favorite songs and she wouldn't do it. Tyrone was getting mad and it was all I could do to get him out of there before he did something stupid. We were working graveyards that month, so as soon as we hit the street, he insisted on going by the bar to make sure Gazelle was alright."

Bogo sighed deeply. "You know, I can still see it as if it just happened. We drove up right as she was coming out. She and Tyrone waved at each other, and then we saw Gunter coming up the street in his car doing ninety to nuthin', heading straight for Gazelle like he was going to run her over." Judy gasped, her eyes wide, her paws over her mouth. Bogo nodded at her. "Tyrone saved her, but the way he did it was like something out of a movie. We were still rolling, doing maybe 25 or 30, and he threw open his door and lunged out the car right at her, roaring like death on steroids, all claws and fangs. She happened to look over her shoulder; heard Gunter's car I guess, and saw it, then turned back and there was Tyrone flying through the air like he'd gone totally savage. She screamed like nothing you've ever heard."

Nick knew the kind of scream Bogo was talking about. He'd heard it himself when he pretended to attack Judy at the Museum of Natural History. She'd screamed that way.

"You know, I told you Tyrone was the best police office you'd ever want to meet, and I wasn't exaggerating. He wrapped himself around Gazelle like a cocoon; arms, legs, tail, even his head covering hers when he knocked her out of the way. Gunter couldn't have missed them by more than an inch. They rolled across the sidewalk and slammed into the front of the High Spot. I heard two of his ribs break from the impact. He cracked a couple others, and his whole side was bruised for days, black and blue from top to bottom. But Gazelle didn't have a scratch on her. Not one." Bogo pulled a poster out of his desk drawer and held it up beside the picture of him and Tyrone. "Notice anything?"

It was a picture of Gazelle in her classic "Predators Protecting Prey" pose, where her four tiger dancers surrounded her, the two in front facing out to protect her and the two in back, gazing watchfully down on her. She'd hit upon it by chance early in her career and fallen in love with it so much she used it at least once in every concert she did. She done it at the concert in city center right after the _missing mammals_ case was solved, at the end of her song, _Try Everything_. The tiger in back on the right side of the picture was Tyrone.

"It's your partner," Nick whispered. "It's Tyrone."

"He was with her during her peace rally too," Judy added quietly. "I remember them standing up there together on the rocks, holding paws. At the time I thought it was just her way of showing support for predators."

"They're married," Bogo said flatly.

"What?!" Judy exclaimed. "But . . . how? Who would agree to perform the ceremony? Everyone hates predator-prey couples."

He smiled faintly. "Not everyone. He was my partner, my best friend. As Chief of Police, I have the authority to perform weddings. When I first got the job, I did it for them, using her real name so no one would know." He put the pictures away as they digested that. "Which brings us to you two."

Nick reached out blindly and took Judy's paw. She gripped him tight.

Bogo watched them with a sad, little smile. "I've had my suspicions about you two every since Wilde intervened when I wanted your badge," he told Judy. He looked at Nick. "Predators and prey can become friends, but only after years of working together, like me and Tyrone. But you, you jumped in and defended her after knowing her for what, a day and a half?" He shook his head. "I saw it happen with Tyrone and Gazelle, so I knew it when I saw it with you two. And . . ." he sighed, ". . . you need to be more careful about where the traffic cams are, and where they're pointed. There's one that points right inside the lobby of the Downtown Covington Arms, right at the elevators in fact."

Nick and Judy gulped as they remembered exiting the elevators last night, arm in arm, like lovers.

He nodded at their guilty expressions. "You're just lucky it was me who saw the traffic cams and not someone else. I erased the footage, but I knew right away you were going to get yourselves into trouble so I followed you. I got to the fish market just in time to see your little _near miss_ , and the reaction of that pig. I thought she was going to scream."

He glanced at the clock. "We need to wrap this up, so I'll make it fast. 99.9% of all mammals don't like predator-prey couples, but there's a few of us who don't care. Also, since there's no actual law against predator-prey couples, marriage may be your safest option. No one in government could do anything about it, you'd get a number of benefits, and they couldn't talk about it because of confidentiality. If anyone else found out, it would protect you from being fired or evicted . . . or at least make it harder for someone to justify it. BUT," and his voice hardened, "you have to watch yourselves in public. If you start kissing in public, married or not, it could start a riot. It's not fair, but it's the way it is." He stood up, walked around the desk and unlocked the door. "You've got a lot to talk about, AND, I still expect you to do your jobs no matter what you decide. Understood?"

They nodded together.

"Good. Now get to work." He paused. "And if you find Ramses, turn him into a wool rug!"

Nick saluted smartly. "Yes sir!" Judy echoed him and they headed downstairs.

They waited until they were in the car and on the road before saying anything to each other. Nick radioed that car 63 was 10-8, in service. Clawhauser 10-4'd them and Judy headed for Savannah Central for the day. Nick glanced around. "Pull over in that parking lot," he told her. She gave him an unreadable look but did as he asked.

He decided that for once in his life he wasn't going to beat around the bush, be sarcastic, or teasing; he was just going to say it straight out. "I love you," he said quietly. Her eyes shot wide. "I don't know exactly when it happened or how, but it did. I love you and I can't imagine my life without you in it."

"Oh, Nick," she whispered, taking his paws in hers, wishing they had somewhere private to go. "I love you, too. I don't know _how_ it happened, but I know exactly _when_ it happened."

"You do?"

She nodded. "At the Museum of Natural History, when you pretended to attack me, when you had my throat in your teeth."

"Ah, uhm, okay, look, you're gonna have to explain that one," he stuttered.

She smiled, some of her old fire returning. "Gideon Grey scared me when I was a kid." He nodded; she'd told him the story. "I thought I got over it, outgrew it, but when I first saw you at the ice cream parlor, all those old feelings came back and I nearly used the Fox Repellent on you before I saw Finnick pretending to be your son. Then I felt ashamed of myself. And then, I couldn't help but notice how handsome you are, and I was attracted to you, and all the sudden everything got all jumbled up inside. I guess that's why it hurt so much when I discovered you'd hustled me, then when you tore my dreams apart with just a few words, it hurt even worse." She took a deep breath. "Then we started working together . . ."

"After you hustled me," he interrupted with a teasing smile.

". . . after I hustled you," she agreed, returning his smile, "and I got to know you. The more I knew you, the more I liked you." She laughed self-consciously. "It happened so fast! You stood up to Bogo for me, and told me about the Junior Ranger Scouts, and something melted inside me." She looked down at the floorboards. "Then I hurt you, drove you away, without even meaning to, but you took me back!" She looked up, almost wildly. "After all I did to you, you took me back! On the train you fought right beside me against Doug and his goons. We could have been killed in the wreck, but you didn't leave me. You didn't leave me when I was wounded. You stayed with me the whole time."

She took a deep breath, "Then, when you had to pretend to go savage, it was the most terrifying moment in my life." She looked at him. He was hanging on to her every word. "I saw everything I'd ever been afraid of in foxes, coming right at me. When you lunged at my neck, I screamed and," she took a deep breath, "it wasn't a fake scream. It was real." She bit her lip in shame. "But you didn't break the skin, you didn't even put any pressure on me. Your teeth were around my throat, and it was the gentlest thing I'd ever felt." She met his eyes. "That's when everything changed. That's when I knew. That's when I fell in love with you."

He put a gentle paw against her face and she leaned into it. "I wasn't pretending as much as you think. There was part of me that wanted to cut loose and go savage for real."

She smiled into his paw, then opened her beautiful eyes to meet his. "I know," she whispered. "Bunny hearing is sharper than you realize. I could hear the undertones in your growls. You really meant them."

He nodded, "And I could smell your fear."

She glanced around quickly to make sure no one was looking their way, then sat up, taking his face between both paws and kissed him, quickly and lightly. It sent a shiver right down to her toes. She saw his whole body shudder and his hair stood on end then lay down, in wave after wave across his body.

He blinked. "Wow!"

She laughed shakily. "Yeah. Wow!" She shook her head to clear it. "But we got through that moment," she continued. "Somehow we got through it, and on the other side, was this. Us."

He leaned back in his seat, her paw clasped in his. "Us. Hmm. You know, Fluff, I kinda like the sound of that."

"Kinda?" she laughed. "You know you love me."

He pretended to consider it. "Do I know that? Yes, yes I do."

They smiled and leaned forward for another kiss when a red car with white racing stripes suddenly went zooming past them at high speed, quickly followed by a green sports car and another, this one white and black.

Nick blinked in surprise. "Was that Flash and Lance?" He flipped on the lights and siren.

Judy tromped on the gas. "Along with someone else," she growled angrily, furious at being interrupted, and furious that Flash and Lance would keep racing the streets even after getting a ticket just the day before.

Nick grabbed the radio as they fish tailed down the street after the errant threesome. "Car 63, need immediate 10-78 with 3, 10-94's, Savannah Central, eastbound on Acacia." He was asking for immediate assistance with 3 street racers. Moments later 2 cars radioed they were on their way. Two more radioed in seconds later.

Nick gave a quick description of all three, but included the plate numbers for Flash and Lance, since they already had them. "10-4," they all responded, "10-76." It meant, in route. He could smell the anger in Judy's pheromones, coming off her in waves. "Catch 'em, don't beat 'em up," he yelled over the noise of the siren.

She gritted her teeth, then nodded. "You're right," she admitted. "It's just, the _timing_."

"I know, I know," he agreed. "Hey! They're splitting up!" The three cars ahead of them had come to a Y in the road. Flash and Lance took the east branch toward Sahara Square, while the white and black car took the other fork toward City Central. "Follow Lance and Flash!" She nodded and wrestled the wheel around. Tires squealed. He grabbed the mic; "Car 63, 10-80, two suspects eastbound toward Sahara Square. Need 10-93 at bridge. One suspect, white and black vehicle, northbound toward City Central." He was asking for a blockade on the bridge for the suspect they were pursuing. Flash and Lance weren't playing around today. They knew they were in trouble and were gunning it for all they were worth. Their souped up cars were pulling away from them. Calling ahead for a blockade was their only chance of catching them.

"Car 17, 10-80, white and black suspect vehicle," the radio crackled. He grinned at Judy. Francine, the elephant officer, had picked up the third car and was in pursuit.

He keyed the mic. "They're too fast!" he warned. "Anyone, help car 17, with 10-93 at first opportunity."

"10-4," someone responded. It sounded like Grizzoli, the polar bear officer.

"Car 46, 10-53 at eastbound bridge!" It was Snarlof, another polar bear officer, blocking the traffic lanes on the bridge.

"10-4," Nick responded. "Suspect ETA, 1 minute!"

Judy slid around another corner. Flash and Lance were definitely getting further ahead of them with each passing second. "If they turn off while they're out of sight, we'll lose them," she worried.

"I know, I know!"

Fortunately, they didn't. They hit the bridge like a runaway freight train. Moments later they saw both of them fishtail as they hit the brakes. The radio crackled, "Car 46, 2 suspect vehicles turning around on bridge. Better get here fast, 63."

Judy gripped the wheel harder. "I'll show you fast," she muttered, bearing down on the bridge. Lance and Flash had already turned around and were headed back their way. She hit the gas as hard as she could for a moment, then slammed on the brakes, twisting the wheel at the same time. It sent them skidding sideways across the road, almost up on two wheels. They crashed to a halt, blocking both lanes. Lance and Flash had to hit the brakes to keep from T-boning them. They screeched to a stop, leaving twin skid marks behind.

Snarlof and other car came roaring up to box them in. They all jumped out, surrounding the racers. Nick turned on their loudspeaker. "Come out with your paws in the air!" he boomed over it. For a moment there was nothing, then both of them reluctantly emerged. "Down on the ground," he told them. Again, they paused before obeying. They both went down, first Lance, then Flash. Judy jumped over the hood of the car and raced over to them, slapping the cuffs, first on Lance, then on Flash.

"You're under arrest for reckless endangerment and whatever else I can think of," she snapped at them.

Snarlof ambled up. "Easy there, Hopps. What's got your dander up?"

"We gave these two speeding tickets for this same thing just yesterday and let them go," she huffed angrily. "And now, here they are, doing it again. Someone's going to get hurt if they keep this up."

Snarlof grinned at Rhinowitz, the officer from the other car. "She sounds like Bogo, doesn't she?"

Rhinowitz nodded. "Yeah, kinda."

She tossed her head and ignored them, as well as their ensuing laughter. Instead she turned her ire back on Flash and Lance. "What is with you two?" she asked in exasperation.

Lance had a hangdog expression on his face. "I'm sorry, officer Hopps. Really, I am. But it's like giving up the perfect . . . I don't know, the perfect mate or something. You find the one who's just right for you, the one you've always wanted, and then you get told you have to give her up . . . and you just can't. You know?" he finished hopefully.

Flash added, faster than he usually did, "It's very addictive."

Nick nodded absently. "Yeah, Lance told us the same thing yesterday." He was watching Judy to see her reaction to Lance's "mate" analogy. She was biting her lip, a sure sign she didn't know what to say. Before he could think of anything himself, Snarlof interrupted.

"A couple of tow trucks are on the way. By the way, Francine and Grizzoli just radioed in that they got the other car." Nick perked up his ears. "They said it's a panda named Ho Nan, who owns a restaurant in the Rainforest District."

Judy seized on it. "Another respectable mammal, suddenly going rogue over some street racing?" she wondered. "What's going on?"

Snarlof shrugged indifferently. "Beats me. I just bag 'em and haul 'em in. I leave the deep thinking to you heavy hitter types." Rhinowitz snorted his agreement. "Bogo loves that kind of stuff though. Talk to him when you get these idiots back to the station." A couple of tow trucks pulled up and Snarlof waved good-bye. "My car's in their way. I'm outta here."

Judy and Nick waved at him and Rhinowitz. "Thanks for the backup. See you at the station."

A few minutes later they had their captives in the backseat, then directed traffic around the tow trucks until the drivers got the cars hooked up and hauled away. On the way downtown, Nick turned half around in his seat to address Lance. "Still got that _thrill of the hunt_ thing going?"

Lance nodded despondently. "Not at the moment, but yeah, sure. It's why we do it."

"Even after we told you to stop it?" Judy asked, looking at him in the rear view mirror.

He shrugged. "It's like I told you; you can't give up the one thing that really makes you feel alive."

Nick and Judy exchanged glances. Not really wanting to pursue that particular topic, they dropped it and rode the rest of the way in silence. They got Flash and Lance booked in, then asked Clawhauser to see if Bogo was available to talk about the street racers for a minute. He was, and Clawhauser told them to go on up.

"Shut the door," Bogo told them irritably. His desk was stacked high with folders and paperwork.

Nick gestured for Judy to take it. She nodded and launched into a quick explanation of the the street racers and their apparent motivation. She explained about Lance's _thrill of the hunt_ theory and his comparison of it to finding the perfect mate. "I know the law is the law," she finished, "but what if there was some legal way for them to race, without being on the streets? It seems pretty obvious they're not going to stop, and from what Lance told us yesterday, there's more than just these three today."

Bogo was intrigued by her description of the _thrill of the hunt_ idea. "A lot of patrol officers like to stay on patrol because of the excitement, or miss it when they get promoted," he mused. "I still miss it myself. The beaver may be on to something," he agreed. He cocked his head. "So what to do you want from me?"

Judy hadn't really thought that far ahead and started to fumble. Nick came to her rescue. "Hold off on pressing the charges against them for a few days," he urged. "Their cars are in the impound, so they can't really do anything. Give us a chance to see if we can come up with some, alternative way for them to get their thrills."

Bogo nodded slowly. "I can do that. But," he added warningly, "don't take too long."

Nick nodded, then winced as Judy excitedly punched him in the arm. "Good thinking, Nick!"

"I'm happy you're happy," he grumbled, massaging his shoulder.

Bogo tossed his head at them. "Okay, okay. Enough! Get out of here and let me get some work done."

They skipped out of his office. The hall outside his office doubled as a wide balcony overlooking the main reception area below. There was a direct line of sight to Clawhauser's desk. A few feet over though was bench surrounded by huge, potted plants. They provided cover on the back and both ends of it, creating a semi-private area in the midst of the station. Judy pulled Nick over there. "You're the smartest, sliest fox there is! And you deserve a reward for it!" She glanced around quickly, then pulled him in for a passionate kiss.

Time seemed to stop as their tongues intertwined and his breath became hers, then vice-versa. Their hearts beat as one as they pulled each other close. A shiver ran down her spine to her toes then back up again. She felt his whole body shudder against hers.

Aware they were in a public place they reluctantly pulled away from each other before anyone came along and saw them. She was having trouble breathing. She looked at him with stars in her eyes. "Oh, Nick," she sighed "That was even better than I thought it would be."

His voice was shaky. "I'd say thank you, but I was thinking the same thing about you."

Her knees were weak. She leaned her head against his chest for a moment to recover, and give her heart a chance to slow down.

In his office, Bogo hit a button on his computer, turning off the camera that was aimed at the bench. No one was coming so he'd give them a little privacy. If he'd had any doubts about their relationship, watching their kiss removed them. He shook his head sadly; they had a rough road ahead of them. He opened his bottom desk drawer and fished in it until he found a small, black address book. He flipped through it until he found Tyrone's number.

"Hello?" Tyrone's voice was suspicious when he finally answered.

"Ty, it's me, Bogo."

Tyrone did a one-eighty. "Bogo! You old sourpuss! How the heck are ya?"

"Doing good, doing good," Bogo answered. "I'm sorry it's been so long since I called, but you know how things are around here, never a dull moment."

"And you love it," Tyrone laughed at him.

Bogo laughed along with him. "I loved it more on patrol, but hey, it's all good." The levity died out of his voice. "Listen, Ty, this isn't a social call. Well, it is, but not the way you normally think."

Tyrone's voice changed too. "I'm listening."

There was no easy way to approach it so Bogo just told him flat out, "You two aren't the only ones anymore."

There was a moment of stunned silence on the line.

"What?!"

"Two of my newest and best officers, a fox and a rabbit. I saw 'em kissing in the hall outside my office just now. It's the real thing, same as you guys."

"Wow!" Tyrone muttered. "That's amazing. I always thought we'd be the only odd couple in Zootopia for the rest of our liv . . . wait . . . did you say a _fox and a rabbit_? I've only heard of one rabbit on the ZPD, the one that put Bellwether in jail, and some street hustler fox who helped her."

Bogo shook his head in appreciation of Tyrone's detective skills. "Still have it, don't you?" he chuckled. "Those are the ones I'm talking about," he conceded. "And, I had to tell them about you two to get 'em to be more careful. They nearly got caught last night at the Fishtown Market."

"Yeah, wait. Hang on," Tyrone said quickly.

Bogo heard voices in the background; Tyrone explaining something to a female, then her asking questions. A moment went by, then Gazelle's famous voice came on the line. "Thank you, Chief Bogo. Thank you for telling us."

He allowed himself a smile, even though she couldn't see him. "You're welcome. You just take care of my old partner there."

She laughed daintily, "Count on it." She gave the phone back to Tyrone.

"What are their names," Tyrone asked, "in case we meet them?"

"You mean, in case you look them up so you can have someone to talk to that's in the same position you are?" Bogo asked.

"Hmmp!" Tyrone snorted, not deigning to answer him.

"Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde," Bogo told him. "They both live at the Downtown Covington Arms."

"My first apartment was there," Tyrone interjected.

"You, and about a million other cops," Bogo snorted. He surveyed the pile on his desk. "I've got to go before I get buried under a mountain of paperwork, but I wanted to call and let you know."

"Okay," Tyrone agreed. "And hey partner, thanks."

"Any time, partner, any time." They hung up.

Unaware of Bogo's efforts on their part, Nick and Judy ate lunch at one of the lunch wagons that filled the area around the watering hole, then hit the streets again. It was a slow afternoon, giving them plenty of time to simply enjoy each others company. Late in the day they were driving past the prison where Bellwether was, and Nick had a sudden idea. "Liquid nitrogen makes things brittle doesn't it?" he asked, his ears standing up straight.

Judy saw his excitement and heard his heart racing. "Yes, it does. Why?"

"Spray some of it on the chain link fencing around the prison, maybe some on the walls and bars, and ole Douggie would have a fool proof way of breaking Bellwether out of there," he said quickly.

Judy gasped, "Nick! You're a genius!"

"Above average," he smiled self-deprecatingly.

"Nick! You've got to call it in," she said. "Tell Bogo!"

He picked up the mic and radioed Clawhauser, asking him to put the Chief on the line. A moment later Bogo's exasperated voice came over the air. "Now what?"

Aware that everyone on patrol could hear him, Nick stayed away from any personal remarks and kept it strictly professional. He quickly explained his idea about Ramses' possible use of the liquid nitrogen. As soon as he was done a confused babble broke out over the radio as everyone tried to talk at once. Through the noise they could hear Snarlof smugly telling someone, "See? I told you they were heavy hitters!"

Nick wanted to laugh at Snarlof's depiction of them, for the second time, as "heavy hitters." He turned to see what Judy thought of it, and found her giving him a smoldering look that made his temperature rise. The air in the car was suddenly laden with a profusion of pheromones pouring out of her. His heart quickened, and he wondered if she could hear it. She reached out and ran a soft paw over his muzzle. "If you think the kiss today was hot, wait until you see the one I lay on you tonight after work!" His heart skipped a beat in anticipation and she gave him another sultry smile. "I love listening to your heart go crazy like that," she murmured softly. Well, that answered that question, he thought disjointedly.

"SHUT IT!" Bogo roared over the radio, breaking the moment. Silence fell. "That's a good idea, Wilde. I'll post extra patrols around the prison, and alert the warden. Good work." He signed off abruptly. The moment Bogo was off the air, the rest of them tried to talk all at once again, congratulating him. It went on so long he started to get embarrassed.

"Sheesh!" he muttered. "You'd think they never thought of anything themselves."

"Maybe they haven't," she giggled. "Maybe that's why Snarlof thinks we're heavy hitters."

It was nearly quitting time, so she steered the car back to headquarters. After finishing their paperwork, they jumped in Judy's truck to go do some grocery shopping. Their aborted trip the night before hadn't netted them very much. They still needed to restock their respective kitchens. Going out in uniform helped remind them to maintain their distance from each other in public.

Back at the Covington Arms, Judy grabbed some spices out of Nick's bag as she got off at her floor. "Dinner will be ready in about 45 minutes," she said. "Bring the wine." After a quick check to make sure they were alone, she gave him a quick kiss, shivering at the powerful reaction they both had from it. "45 minutes," she said as the doors closed. "Don't be late."

Exactly 45 minutes later her doorbell rang. She opened it and her heart skipped a beat. He was wearing a black tuxedo with a crisp bow tie. He handed her the bottle of wine with a flourish. "Bone," he said with a fake accent, "James Bone, of Her Majesties Royal Secret Service." During her convalescence he'd learned about her fondness for James Bone movies.

Judy, wearing a flowing purple dress that matched her eyes, curtsied. "Do you have a license to kill?" she asked as she closed the door.

"Only to protect a damsel in distress," he answered smoothly, standing dangerously close to her.

"I'm a damsel in distress," she muttered, swaying toward him. "I'm distressed I haven't been kissed in over 45 minutes."

"Easily remedied," he replied, taking her in his arms.

Able to kiss for the first time without checking to make sure no one could see them, they lowered their defenses and sank into each others embrace. Their lips opened and tongues met. Time spiraled down to a stop, and there was nothing left but the two of them. Their hearts were like kettle drums in their chests. They kissed until they were gasping for air. Judy felt like her knees were about to give out, and she could tell he wasn't doing much better. She rested her head on his chest while he ran a tender paw over her head and down her ears.

"You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," he whispered.

She closed her eyes with a contented smile. "You don't have to say things like that, but I love hearing it anyway." She snuggled closer. "And I love hearing your heart. So strong and powerful."

"I can smell certain _things_ about you too," he remarked lazily. "Yum."

She wound her arms around his neck and pulled him down for another kiss. "We can't keep many secrets from each other, can we?" she whispered against his mouth.

"Almost none," he agreed, loving the taste of her lips. "Well, except for one."

She looked up in surprise. "What?"

"When dinner is going to be ready," he said smoothly. "You're keeping that a secret."

"Dinner!" she exclaimed, breaking away to grab the pans off the stove before the food burned. "Whew! Just in time."

When he finally left, several hours later, she thought it was the best dinner she'd ever had. They'd eaten, drunk wine, fed each other, drank more wine, and laughed and giggled like a couple of school cubs. And between everything, they kissed. Then they kissed and hugged. And then for good measure, they kissed some more.

She leaned against the door with a contented sigh, listening to his footsteps heading down the hall. She didn't think she'd ever get tired of his kisses. They were pure magic.

After changing into her pajamas, and cleaning up after dinner, she found she wasn't sleepy. Her body was still tingling from his arms and lips. She curled up on the couch with her phone and opened her web browser. On a whim she Zoogled "predator-prey relationships" and was surprised at how much there was. On closer inspection though, most of them turned out to be gossip sites dedicated to rumors about suspected couples; first and foremost on every one of them was Gazelle and her lead dancer, Tyrone. Any other time Judy might have been fascinated, but knowing the truth about them, and understanding from personal experience what it must be like for them, she found she had no interest in the output of the rumor mills. She went back to the listing of web sites and paged through them looking for something a little more substantial. Buried deep on the last page of the list was an 8-year-old study from Zootopia University. She clicked on it and was hooked after only a few sentences.

The article, _"A Historical and Contemporary Study of Predator-Prey Romantic Relationships," by Dr. Lawrence Huffer and Dr. Shelly F_ _ü_ _rlong_ _, Zootopia University, Department of Anthropology,_ opened by stating that predator-prey romantic relationships were rare, but not unknown. It discussed the legend that among the founders of Zootopia, there was a lion and zebra who fell in love after escaping from a brush fire that nearly killed them both. To date, all verified cases of predator-prey romance have involved a male predator and a female prey. It said there were only five confirmed cases; two historical and three contemporary, although there were probably more who were in hiding for fear of pubic disapproval. The researchers claimed to have interviewed the three living couples, and compared their answers with what was known about the two in the history books to arrive as some tentative conclusions.

In order for predator-prey romance to work, four things seemed to be required:

Initial Attraction

There must be a strong, initial attraction between the two mammals when they first meet, or very soon thereafter, within six months or less. If not, romance will never blossom.

Know Each Other

They must spend time getting to know each other and become comfortable around each other. They must share details from their past; favorite memories, likes and dislikes, etc., beyond what is normally required for mere acquaintances.

Trust Each Other

They must learn to trust each others judgment and abilities. They must trust that they have each others back in a crisis.

Life & Death Test

They must survive a life & death struggle or crisis where they are forced to rely on each other in order to survive.

These four things didn't guarantee a romantic relationship would emerge, they simply laid the necessary groundwork and foundation upon which one can be built. But without them, no romance would ever be possible.

Judy was dumbstruck as she read the outline in the article. It was a near perfect encapsulation of her and Nick's relationship. She'd even recited an abbreviated version of it to him this morning when she told him when she fell in love with him. And now that she thought about it, it was also a repetition of the progress of Tyrone and Gazelle's relationship; at least the way Bogo told it. She sent Nick a text.

JUDY: Are you up?

NICK: Yeah. Why?

JUDY: Go to this web site and read it!

She included a copy of the URL for him. After sending it she kept reading. It concluded with the two paragraphs she thought were incredibly fascinating, as well as a footnote at the bottom. The two paragraphs read:

 _ **The existence of predator-prey romance** is difficult, if not impossible, to explain in terms of evolutionary biology. The parallel rise of intelligence in multitudes of different mammal species all at the same time – but only in mammals – is equally difficult to explain, particularly since all the evolution happened apparently at the same time and in the same direction; giving rise to intelligent mammals talking and walking upright, yet retaining all their primitive appearances and features._

 _Another aspect of modern mammals that is difficult to explain evolutionarily is that predators now enjoy many vegetables in their diet, while prey have learned to enjoy sea food and fowl. This simultaneously occurring overlap between their preferred diets is baffling to evolutionary theory._

She thought the footnote was equally fascinating. Part of it said:

 _ **Recent discoveries** in the last year or two, may point to a alternative explanation for the rise of intelligent mammals other than ordinary evolution. A large meteor, or small asteroid, may have exploded in the sky over Zootopia's current location some 2000 years ago, catastrophically flooding the atmosphere with radioactive, mutagenic gases that affected only mammalian DNA, mutating it and adding to it, in order to produce today's intelligent, walking, talking mammals._

 _A common addition to the DNA of all mammals would explain why predators suddenly stopped hunting mammal prey and eating them, since it would now feel like cannibalism. It would also explain the existence of predator-prey romance, taking it from the realm of evolutionary impossibility, to the realm of the rare and unlikely, but now possible, although always childless. Additionally, the common mutagenic DNA added to both predator and prey would explain their new, common dietary preferences._

 _Support for this possibility comes from trace samples of unusual minerals found all over the world at approximately the same depth in the soil, indicating an age of about 2000 years. The concentration is strongest around Zootopia, which perhaps not coincidentally, is where the first predator-prey treaty was forged to begin a common civilization. While the available evidence is tenuous at best, the explanatory power of this theory is impressive._

She couldn't contain herself anymore and bounced to her feet, pacing excitedly around her apartment. She sent Nick another text.

JUDY: Read all the way to the bottom and don't forget to read the footnote too.

NICK: Okay.

Was it really possible, she thought? Everything about her relationship with Nick argued that it was true. It even hinted that Lance's _thrill of the hunt_ idea was valid. If they were only 2000 years from the jungle, all those old drives would still be there, alive and well, strong as ever. If their civilized intelligence and manners were the result of a cosmic accident, it might even account for the night howlers being able to drive them savage. After catching Lance yesterday Nick had theorized the two might be related. Maybe he was right.

Her phone buzzed with a message from Nick.

NICK: Wow! Unreal!

JUDY: I know! It explains a lot!

NICK: Even Lance's "thrill of the hunt" thing.

JUDY: I thought about that too. I love you.

NICK: Getting tired. Go to sleep, angel face. Talk to you in a.m. I love you.

JUDY: Love you too!

 **For more of my writing, visit my web site**

 **Scribe of Texas (all one word, no spaces) period, then the letters c-o-m**


	3. Chapter 3

Zootopia

Racing on the Wilde Side

Chapter 3

Judy woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. She felt on top of the world this morning and couldn't wait to see Nick. After a lightning fast shower, she decided not to wait. She threw on her uniform, grabbed a box of Lucky Chomps and headed upstairs to surprise him.

She was surprised to discover his apartment was directly across the hall from the elevators, and realized that's how he beat her Monday night when they were racing to get ready for their shopping trip. She giggled to herself that he's busted now, and tapped on his door.

"I can smell you through the door, Fluff," he whispered from inside.

"And I can hear you," she sang out gaily. "Now open up."

He opened the door and she pounced on him before realizing he hadn't put on his shirt yet. His arms grabbed her as he staggered back from her unexpected assault. Dropping the box of cereal, and ignoring the fact they might fall, she pressed her lips to his, kissing him deeply and passionately. Resigning himself to the inevitable, he let gravity take its course and toppled backwards onto the sofa, pulling her down with him. She squealed happily in his arms, pressing her mouth harder against his. After a long breathless moment she sat up astride him, holding him down with a paw on each shoulder.

"You sly fox," she exclaimed. "Your apartment is right across from the elevator. No wonder you beat me back to it Monday night!"

"And you were a vision to behold too," he told her smugly, but honestly.

She lowered her head until they were nose-to-nose. "Flattery will get you kissed, right here and now, _Mister_ Wilde," she mock-threatened him.

"Oh no," he exclaimed in a high, false voice. "Anything but that!" His expression changed, along with his voice. "I love you, Fluff. I love you more than life itself." She melted against him for another long, passionate kiss. Moments later her stomach rumbled, embarrassing her into letting him go. "I guess we can't live on love alone," he chuckled lightly. "We need food too."

She jumped up. "I brought some cereal," she offered, scooping the box off the floor where she'd dropped it when she tackled him.

He got off the couch. "And I've got some milk in the fridge. Get some for both of us while I finish getting dressed," he told her, disappearing into his bedroom. She hummed happily as she searched his cabinets for bowls and spoons, feeling a quiet sense of domestic bliss. "Don't forget the blueberries," he called.

"Don't worry, mammal O'mine," she returned gaily. "Everything will be ready for Milord when he emerges from his chambers." She set out bowls, spoons, napkins, cereal, milk and fruit. His coffee pot was full of fresh coffee so she poured him a cup, then added cream and sugar the way she'd watched him do. After a moment's thought, she poured a second cup for herself and fixed it the same way. She'd never been much of a coffee drinker, but she took an experimental sip and decided she liked it.

He appeared out of the bedroom, fully dressed in his uniform, ready to go. He ran his eyes over everything. "Hmm. I could get used to this," he smiled. "Breakfast looks good too," he added.

She blushed. "Sit down and eat."

He poured a bowl of cereal and milk, added some sugar and a handful of blueberries. "How did you find all that stuff last night?" he asked between bites.

"I Zoogled predator-prey relationships and it came up with this huge, long list of rumor and gossip sites," she told him, "but when I got to the very end of the list, there it was. It was the only one that didn't look like a rumor mill so I took a chance and started reading it. And I'm glad I did!"

"You and me, both. I wonder if Tyrone and Gazelle were one of the couples they said they interviewed?" he mused.

"I wondered the same thing," she nodded. "Bogo might know."

"I don't think we can just come right out and ask him though," Nick argued. He pantomimed sticking his head through a door. "Hey, Chief Buffalo Butt, did your old partner ever mention that he and Gazelle were interviewed for some earth shaking research no one ever heard of?"

"Nick!"

"Okay, I'll call him Bogo instead of Buffalo Butt," he conceded with a saucy grin.

She shook her head. "You're terrible." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she knew what he was going to say.

"You know you love me."

She couldn't help but smile. "Do I know that? Yes, yes I do."

He leaned over and kissed her. "That's because you're a smart bunny."

She tilted her head. "Oh, so I'm a smart bunny because I love you? Is that how it works?"

He finished off his cereal. "Yes, absolutely," he said around a huge mouthful of cereal. "And the more you love me, the smarter you'll be." He tossed his dishes in the sink.

She shook her head over his slovenly, bachelor habits. "Then I'm going to be the smartest bunny in the history of the world," she smiled at him as she rinsed the dishes and put them in the dishwasher. He pulled out a packet of papers and started leafing through them. "What are you looking for?" she asked, drying her paws off with a pawtowel.

"I was looking through the packet I got from the ZPD, to see if Bogo's cell phone is listed in here. We could text him the info and let him read it himself."

Judy shook her head. "Don't waste your time, Nick. He only gives it out to close, personal friends."

He tossed it aside. "Figures. Oh well, we'll write the link on paper and let him type it in." He grabbed his house keys. "Ready?"

"Always," she smiled eagerly.

"Good," he grinned. "In that case, first things first," he said, closing the door she was trying to open. He pulled her into his arms for another kiss.

"Mmm," she purred, melting into his embrace. They both poured themselves into the kiss so strongly they were still tingling when they sat down in the bull pen to wait for roll call.

They sat down beside Rhinowitz and he immediately started telling them about another street racer who was caught by the night shift. Only this time he'd lost control and run into the side of a building in the Rainforest District. No one was hurt, but it caused a lot of damage. "I hear Bogo's pretty upset about it," he finished.

"He should be," Judy replied indignantly. "We're trying to help those idiots and they're just making it worse for themselves and everyone around them. Don't they have _any_ self-control?"

Officer Snarlof, sitting just behind them chuckled deeply. "Told ya she sounds like Bogo," he reminded Rhinowitz.

"Who sounds like me?" a familiar voice asked.

They glanced up to see Chief Bogo towering over them. Snarlof nodded at Judy. "Rhinowitz was telling Hopps how upset you are at those street racers and she said you should be."

"Hmp!" he snorted. He didn't look entirely displeased with the comparison.

He took his place behind the podium. "All right, settle down." He ran his eyes over the assembled officers. "I see some of you are still a little bit worse for the wear from your shots yesterday." It was true. The night howler antidote shots were actually a derivative from the night howlers, and gave the subject a splitting headache that left them sensitive to light, nauseous, and weak as a kitten. The effects sometimes lasted up to 36 hours after getting the shots. Some of the officers looked like death warmed over. "Well, you should have gotten the shots back when I told you about them, and had it done over the weekend. You'll just have to work through it. I can't afford to go another day with only half my officers on the street." He shuffled some papers. "Fortunately, we seem to have a pretty light day ahead of us. Most of the action took place last night with that street racer." He looked around the room. "Hopps and Wilde are trying to come up with some kind of legal option for these idiots, but until and unless, they do, they're to be treated the way they deserve. Arrest 'em and lock 'em up! Impound their cars and get 'em off my streets!"

He shuffled through some more papers. "For those of you who might have been hanging onto the toilet yesterday . . ." amused chuckles floated through the air, accompanied by pained groans, ". . . you might not have heard about officer Wilde's little brainstorm." He gave them a quick summation of how Ramses might try to use the liquid nitrogen. "Clawhauser will be rotating you to cover the prison today; an hour for each unit. There'll be four units on guard at all times, one on each side, so some of you might wind up pulling double duty. It can't be helped. That's why I need everyone working today."

"Hopps and Wilde, report to my office. I want an update on those street racers. The rest of you, get out there and keep it peaceful today!" He stomped out, Nick and Judy trailing in his wake. In his office he slapped the sheaf of papers on his desk. "Well, what have you got on the racers?"

Nick and Judy glanced at each other. "Nothing yet," she answered for them. "It's only been one day, Sir."

He nodded brusquely. "I figured as much. And the _other matter_ we discussed?"

"Judy found a web site with some fascinating information on that subject, and some of it might even bear on the _thrill of the hunt_ thing Lance was talking about," Nick said. Bogo gave him a puzzled look. "You'll have to look at it yourself, Sir. We didn't have your cell phone number or we would have texted the information to you."

Bogo nodded. "Copy it down," he said, and gave it to them. "No one else is to have that number, or know that you have it. Understood?" They nodded in unison. "In that case, get out there and catch some criminals." He waved them away.

They hurried out. Clawhauser yelled at them as they went by that they were on first rotation at the prison, west side. They waved acknowledgment at him without stopping. Judy did her best imitation of a lead foot, street racer getting them there in less than ten minutes. She pulled over under a tree and killed the engine. Nick picked up the mic. "Car 63, 10-23," he reported.

"10-4," Clawhauser answered. "Pennington will be relieve you in an hour." He was referring to Francine Pennington, the elephant officer.

"10-4," Nick said. He hung up the mic and settled back with Judy to watch the prison and the surrounding area. He doubted Ramses would try a jail break in broad daylight, but you never knew. Before he forgot, he sent Bogo a text with the link to the web site Judy had found. He put the phone away and looked around. "It's probably going to get boring after a while, just sitting here, but right now it's kinda nice to relax for a change."

Judy smiled at him. "Spending time with you is always nice." She shifted in her seat to get a better look at him. "Why do you think Bogo wanted to ask us about the ' _other matter_ '," she wondered, making quote marks in the air.

"Maybe he's afraid we'll decide to take off and head for the hills," he shrugged.

She hesitated. "Is that something you want to do?"

He shook his head. "Fluff, I'm a city kid, born and bred. I won't leave Zootopia until they turn out the lights." He crossed his arms comfortably and put his feet on the dash. "You?"

Her relief was obvious. "Not a chance," she smiled. "I've wanted to be a cop my whole life. I'm not going anywhere."

"Even though we don't all stand around and sing kumbaya?" he grinned, repeating something he'd told her the first day they'd met.

"Even though," she agreed lightly.

There was silence for a moment, then he stirred himself. "What about him being able to perform marriage?"

This time the silence was more uncomfortable. "My parents would freak out," she finally said. "Having you as a guest under their roof was one thing – something I never thought I'd see in a million years," she admitted, "but _marriage_?" She shook her head. "I can't lose you, Nick. I can't. **I won't!** But my parents . . ." She trailed off uncertainly.

He nodded. "I don't see my mom very much, and when I do, she's always asking when I'm going to get married. But this, us . . ." He shrugged. "I don't know either, Judy. I just don't know."

"We should ask Tyrone and Gazelle how they handled it," she said wistfully.

He tried not to laugh. "In your dreams."

"Maybe not," she responded fiercely. "We're in the same boat they are. They might be sympathetic, and Bogo talked like he and Tyrone are still tight."

He dropped his feet to the floorboards. "Wait a minute, are you serious? Gazelle is _the_ pop star of the year, the whole decade maybe! She must have a million mammals a day trying to see her, talk to her, interview her, beg her for money; the whole nine yards. She's not going to see us! We're complete strangers!"

"Not if Bogo introduces us," she returned quickly.

He held up his paws. "Whoa! Wait a minute, Carrots. You think Chief Buffalo Butt is going to act as a go-between for us and them? Introduce us, arrange a little tête-à-tête?"

"Nick," she reproved him quietly for his derogatory name calling.

"Alright, sorry," he said quickly. "Bogo."

She plunged ahead before he could say anything else. "You haven't been paying attention, Nick. After we found the missing mammals, he changed his tune toward me 180 degrees. And when we solved the whole case, he gave me back my badge! He'd never even taken me off the roster, or off the payroll; I checked. But it's not just me, it's you too. Clawhauser told me he kept tabs on you the whole time you were at the Academy, got daily reports on your progress."

Nick blinked in surprise. "What?"

She nodded. "Back when Manchas went savage, and Bogo tried to take my badge and you stood up to him? . . . no one had ever done that to him before. Everyone around the station was telling me about it when I came back. They said he was flabbergasted, kept talking about it." She reached over to take his paws in her's. "Nick, you really impressed him that night. You forced him to look at the way he was treating me, the way he was treating other mammals, and, kinda put everyone else in their place at the same time too," she said proudly. "Not bad for one little speech. What you did that night, changed – everything!"

Nick was stunned.

"He's taken an interest in us, Nick. Not as Chief of Police, but as one mammal to another. He saw his best friend, his partner, go through the same thing we're going through and the whole time he thought they were the only ones." She smiled ruefully. "And now he knows there's more of us. The more I think about it, the more I think he'll be happy to introduce us to them. I really do," she concluded softly.

Nick had managed to recover and was watching her with quiet amusement. "You know, if you ever decide that being a cop isn't doing it for you, you've got a great future in sales."

She punched him playfully. He grinned, glanced around to make sure no one could see them, then kissed her quickly. She shivered as the tingle went all the way down to her toes. "Stop it," she protested. "I can't think straight when you do that." This time she punched him harder.

"Did it ever occur to you that's the point?" he teased. She tried to punch him again, but this time he caught her paw in his. He kissed her paw then sat back. "Alright, let's say you're right; Bogo is on our side. That doesn't automatically mean Tyrone and Gazelle are. They don't even know us."

"If Bogo introduced us, they would," she argued.

"Tell you what," he offered, "if you can get him to agree to it, fine. But if he blows his top, it was _your_ idea, not mine."

"Chicken," she teased.

"Practical," he countered smoothly.

Before she could reply the radio crackled to life. "63, this is 17. You two quit yakking and get outta here. You're relieved." Startled they looked around. Francine Pennington was parked right behind them, shaking her head in amusement.

Nick grabbed the mic. "Thanks for sneaking up on us, 17," he quipped lightly. As Judy started the car and pulled out, he continued, "63 to base, we're 10-8 for assignment."

"10-4, 63," Clawhauser answered. "10-19 to Savannah Central."

"10-4." Nick tossed the mic on the dash. "I didn't realize we'd been talking so long."

"Time flies when you're having fun," Judy said gaily. Her nose wasn't as acute as his, but in the close confines of their squad car his scent filled the air, and it was heavenly. It was also very distracting.

"Base to 63, what's your 20?"

Nick grabbed the mic. From the corner of his eye he saw Judy perking up at the possibility of some action. Talking and kissing was great, but it was time to bag some bad guys. "Just passing Little Rodentia," he told Clawhauser.

"10-19 to the pharmacy at 1243 Elm Street, 10-31, multiple suspects," he answered quickly.

"10-31, crime in progress!" Nick whooped. "Hit it, Fluff!" She was already ahead of him; she floored it as he flipped on their lights and sirens. Acceleration pushed him back in the seat as the scent of her excitement filled the air. He laughed wildly as she wove in and out of traffic, "Thrill of the hunt, Judy! Thrill of the hunt!" She laughed with him, unable to deny the adrenaline rush surging through her.

They slid around a corner and she stomped on the brakes to keep from hitting mammals running from the pharmacy. It looked like a remodeled office building, an older two-story building, nicely refurbished and updated. At the moment though two of the windows were shattered, while screams echoed from within.

Nick and Judy threw themselves out of the car, pulling their weapons. Before they could do any more the heavy sound of engines revving came from inside the pharmacy. It sounded like motorcycles. They paused uncertainly. Then there was a squealing of tires; Nick saw quick movement inside. He yelled wordlessly at Judy and they both hit the ground as three motorcycles smashed through more windows out into the parking lot. One of them swerved and nearly went over. The rider, a goat wearing a dark helmet, slowed to regain control then gunned it after his companions. Judy saw a bag full of medical tubing slung across his back as he pealed out.

She and Nick dove back into their squad car. "Did you see that?" she shouted at Nick.

"I saw it," he yelled back grabbing the microphone. "63, 10-80, three male suspects on motorcycles, eastbound toward Sahara Square, the Canyon District. Need immediate backup!"

"Why do robbers want medical supplies," Judy continued as if he hadn't spoken.

"How should I know? Ask 'em when we catch 'em." He was interrupted by the radio.

"63, this is 24, ETA 2 minutes."

"Nick!" Judy screamed. He looked up the street; the two motorcycles in the lead turned north but the third one began dropping into the winding roads of the Canyon District. She couldn't turn fast enough to follow the leaders; their car shot over a slight rise, becoming airborne for a split second. It slammed back down then they were bouncing down into the twisty, winding roads, their car bucking and shimmying like a wild thing. Nick was thrown up in the air, banging his head on the roof as Judy fought the wheel.

"Ouch!" He fumbled hastily for his seat belt, clicked it, then tried to get Judy's on her without interfering with her driving but it was impossible. He scrambled after the microphone. "24, two suspects have turned north toward City Central. We're still 10-80 going east."

"10-4," Snarlof replied.

"63, this is 35, westbound to your 20." McHorn was in Sahara Square heading their way.

"10-4," Nick managed. "Make it fast. This motorcycle is leaving us in the dust."

It was true. In the twisting, winding roads of the Canyon District, the smaller, lighter vehicle could slow down, turn and accelerate faster than their bigger, heavier squad car. Their suspect was rapidly pulling away from them. Assuming he didn't turn too sharply and wipe out, he was going to get away if McHorn didn't stop him.

He did.

"Whoo Hoo!" Judy shouted. She pointed ahead and Nick let out a howl as he saw the motorcycle swerve wildly as McHorn breasted the crest of the road and nearly ran him over. The cycle laid down rubber as he was forced to turn north. Judy tapped the brakes and whipped the wheel over, executing a near perfect slide around McHorn's car to go blasting up the road after their suspect, almost right on his tail now.

"Great work, 35!" Nick shouted on the mic. "Take Aloe to Wall street, then 10-93 to force him into Tundratown. He'll wipe out on those icy roads!"

Judy's eyes widened at his words. "Good thinking, Nick!"

He grinned at her, "Thanks. I take kisses as rewards you know."

Even in the midst of their high speed chase she giggled, "If we catch him you'll get double."

"10-4, 63," McHorn replied. "It'll serve him right."

Snarlof came on the radio, "24 to 63, negative contact with suspects. Repeat, negative contact."

"10-4. 63 to base, put out a BOLO for two motorcycles driven by male goats wearing dark helmets with canvas bags full of medical supplies." BOLO was police shorthand for _Be On Look Out_.

"10-4, 63, but you just did it yourself," Clawhauser laughed.

"35, this 49. 10-20 at Wall Street for 10-93. Stay on Aloe in case suspect doubles back." Fangmeyer had set up the blockade at Wall Street before McHorn could get there and was telling him to hang back in case the suspect tried to get away.

"10-4," McHorn acknowledged.

"Wow," Judy exclaimed. "Everyone is getting in on it today."

"The thrill of the hunt," Nick laughed. "They don't want to miss out." He pointed ahead suddenly. "Fangmeyer did it! He's turning into Tundratown!" The motorcycle wobbled as the suspect nearly laid it over avoiding Fangmeyer's car, turning into the tunnel.

Judy whooped in elation as they went roaring into the tunnel to Tundratown. Nick pumped his fist at Fangmeyer, waving him to join the pursuit. The tiger gave him a toothy grin as he laid down rubber coming after them. They heard him over the radio; "49, 10-80 with 63, heading into Tundratown."

"He's on Blizzard Street!" Judy shouted.

"Whoops! No he's not," she laughed a split second later as the motorcycle spun out on the icy roads then skidded a hundred feet before plunging into a semi-frozen pond with a gigantic splash. A wall of water sloshed over the sides of the pond, soaking startled passersby. A back tire, slowing spinning, was all that stuck up above the water.

Nick chortled with glee at the sight. Judy slowed down carefully and he dove out of the car before it came to a full stop, rolling in the snow, once, twice before springing to his feet in a dead run. He skidded to a stop by the pond as the bedraggled goat staggered unsteadily out of the freezing water, slapping the handcuffs on him before he knew what was happening. "You're under arrest," he crowed triumphantly. He gave Judy a conspiratorial wink over his shoulder; it was his first time to actually handcuff someone and arrest them. She thought he looked rather pleased with himself.

Fangmeyer must have thought the same thing. "Want ta pose for a picture, Wilde?" he chuckled, exiting his car.

Nick grinned proudly. "Yes, absolutely!"

Judy giggled in counterpoint to Fangmeyer's deep throated laugh, but obediently snapped some pictures with her phone. Fangmeyer leaned on his open car door and keyed his mic, "All cars be advised, Wilde just lost his virginity." Chortles and catcalls came across the air along with congratulations and atta-boys.

Judy helped Nick get their prisoner into the car. Shutting the door, she placed a gentle paw on his arm. "Congratulations, Nick. Does this help make up for the Junior Ranger Scouts?" He'd told her about his childhood dream of joining the Junior Ranger Scouts only to be thrown out because he was a fox. She searched his eyes.

"Graduating from the Academy made up for that," he smiled. " _This_ is so far past it there's no comparison." He put a tender paw on the side of her face and she leaned into it. "Don't worry about me, Fluff. I'm better than I've ever been in my whole life – and I owe it all to you."

She smiled . . . then suddenly got the feeling of being watched. Nick felt it at the same time she did. They turned . . . and saw Fangmeyer watching them with an unreadable expression on his face. They stepped back hastily from each other, panic rising.

Fangmeyer held up his paws in a placating gesture. "It's none of my business," he assured them. "I kept my cousin's secret, I can keep yours."

Nick shot a glance at Judy as something clicked in his head. There was only one tiger he knew of who shared their secret, "That wouldn't be Tyrone Stripeson, would it?"

Fangmeyer was startled. "How did you kno . . ." He stopped in dawning realization. "Bogo. Chief Bogo told you didn't he?"

Judy nodded, acutely conscious of their prisoner sitting just behind them in the back of their squad car, wondering if he'd seen them too. She wasn't sure how much he could hear, and didn't want to take any chances. She pulled Nick away from the car as nonchalantly as possible. "He said they were partners until he quit to be with – uhm, _her_." She was reticent about saying Gazelle's name out loud in public.

Fangmeyer nodded in understanding. "Yeah, _her_. Tyrone was my hero growing up. He was the big brother I never had – just sisters. So when he left the force for _her_ I blew up at him, screamed, yelled, told him I hated him; the whole nine yards. But after a while . . ." he trailed off.

"Yes?" Judy prompted him.

Sirens were approaching from the direction of the tunnel back to Sahara Square; others were coming. He heard it too. "Took me a while but I got over it," he finished quickly. "We're good now. But you two need to be more careful," he warned them as cars began pulling up.

Nick nodded quickly. "Bogo says the same thing." He turned away. "Hey everyone! Come see what we fished out of the drink!" he called to the officers piling out of their cars. Flashing lights from their cars bathed the surrounding buildings in alternating red and blue.

The next few minutes were a blur of congratulations, coarse jokes and laughter as they crowded around to slap him on the back for a job well done. Watching the well known initiation take place, Judy knew that whatever anyone may have thought about a fox on the police force before, was being washed away. And the expression on Nick's face was the punctuation that proved he was well and truly over his childhood Ranger Scouts debacle.

Despite her delight at him receiving such a round of acceptance, she took a moment to check out their prisoner, but he was so cold and dejected he wasn't paying attention to anything. She smothered a satisfied grin, now certain he hadn't seen her and Nick's momentary indiscretion. When she opened the door to get on the radio to call for a tow truck, his only reaction was to shiver from the blast of cold air coming in.

All the way to the station other officers continued to call in to offer their encouragement to Nick for making his first bust. True to form, Clawhauser added his own effusive praise, and Bogo even appeared briefly on the balcony to give an approving nod.

Judy punched Nick in the side.

"Hey!" he protested. "What was that for?"

"So you don't start getting a swelled head," she informed him primly. "You're already about to bust a button on your shirt. You're still just an ordinary cop, you know."

He grinned with open delight. "Sweetheart, _that_ is the whole idea! It's what makes it so good." He did a little hop, skip, and jump of celebration.

Snarlof, standing nearby, chortled deeply in agreement, "Lighten up, Hopps. You're too much like Bogo." A round of chuckles filled the air from the other officers. "Bogo junior!" someone called, setting off more laughter.

Bogo chose that moment to bellow down from his office, "Back to work! All of you!"

"See?" Rhinowitz grinned at her. He sketched a half-salute then trundled out the door with the rest, trailing deep chuckles in his wake.

Clawhauser tapped Nick on the shoulder. "Now comes the not-so-fun part," he smirked, "the paperwork!" He handed him a sheaf of arrest report forms. "One form for each arrest; keep the rest, you'll need them."

Even the prospect of filling out forms couldn't dampen Nick's spirits. "Sure thing," he said brightly. He glanced at the big wall clock. "As soon as I finish why don't we grab something from the lunch wagons outside," he suggested to Judy. The watering hole in city central was a natural gathering place for downtown workers to congregate during their lunch breaks, so every day dozens of lunch wagons, selling every kind of food imaginable, gathered too, competing for customers and prime locations to attract them. The combined menu from them was better than the highest priced restaurant in town.

"Sounds good," she answered brightly. She trailed along behind him as he found a table in the squad room and began filing out his forms before transferring them to the computer. She thought she might have to correct his work but he proved he'd been an apt pupil at the Academy; he got it all right on his first effort.

"You probably don't know," he asked over his shoulder, "but why fill out forms with pen and paper then turn around and do it online? That's kinda stupid."

"Nope, it's _very_ stupid," she countered, "and you're right; I don't know. I asked around once and nobody knows. It's just," she made quote marks in the air, "the way things are done."

He shook his head in derision, "Figures." He shoved himself back from the desk. "Let's go." He dropped off the arrest form on Clawhauser's desk as they walked out.

A profusion of delectable odors hit them as they stepped outside. Judy took a big whiff. "Ooh! Is that shrimp fried rice I smell?" She turned her head back and forth trying to locate it.

Nick sniffed once. "Sure thing. This way." He led off confidently around the watering hole to a lunch truck covered in oriental designs. "Two orders of shrimp fried rice," he told the busy kola behind the high counter.

"Today was his first arrest," Judy told cook quickly. Nick gave her a puzzled glance.

The kola's eyes widened and he broke into a big smile. "Congratulations, officer . . .?"

"Wilde," Nick told him.

"Congratulations, officer Wilde. Your first arrest means your first order is on the house!" He scurried away to fill their order.

Nick looked at Judy in surprise. "Really?"

She nodded, enjoying his reaction. "Yep. These guys are out in the open where it's easy for them to be robbed, so they always support the police any way they can. This is one of those ways."

Nick was suitably impressed. "Wow." When the cook returned with their orders he thanked him gratefully. They found a nearby bench that had just been vacated and sat down to eat. "Did this happen to you too?"

"You mean after Bogo nearly fired me for arresting Duke Weaselton?" she quipped. "Yeah, Clawhauser told me about it so I came out and got some lunch before I tracked you down that day." They ate in comfortable silence for a few minutes, content to simply enjoy being together. "Remember when I said everyone wanted to get in on the chase, and you said it was the _thrill of the hunt_?" Judy finally asked, breaking the long quiet.

He nodded, "Sure do. Bogo even said he misses the excitement." He finished his lunch and tossed their containers in the trash.

"He did, didn't he?" Judy agreed. "I think Lance is really on to something with the this whole _thrill of the hunt_ thing, and it fits with what we were reading last night in that article." She set her drink down. "If we're only a couple thousand years away from the jungle instead of millions, it stands to reason we'd still have a lot of those old instincts in us . . . _and_ it would explain the night howlers, like you were talking about." Her excitement was building. "Nick! This could really be something big!"

"It could also be a problem," he cautioned her.

"What?"

He nodded. "Think about it, Judy. If any of this stuff is actually true, it means Flash and Lance and all the rest of them aren't going to be cured of their racing by – well, by anything. It's in their DNA." He spread his paws helplessly. "How do you cure that?"

She shook her head, "You can't. Nick! We have to find something safe for them to do before they hurt someone." Desperation tinged her voice.

He turned to watch some cubs playing and running around the grounds. "Like what?" he wondered. "You want 'em to chase each other around like a bunch of cubs? They're a little too old for that." Two cubs were chasing a third, who ran around a tree to lose them, but they followed him.

"There's got to be something," she insisted. "I don't want them hurting anybody, but it's not right to throw them in jail either, not over something they don't have any control over. It'd be like throwing us in jail for, you know, _us_ ," she finished in a whisper, looking around to make sure no one heard.

Nick nodded absently, still watching the cubs. They rounded another tree then started back toward the first one, following an oval path in the dirt where other cubs had chased each other before. He sat up suddenly as lightning struck his brain. "Hey!" He grabbed her and pointed at the cubs. "That's it!"

Her ears stood up straight in surprise. "What's it?" She could hear his heart racing like Flash's car.

"A race track," he exclaimed, pointing at the dirt path the cubs were following. "A race track for cars!"

She looked back and forth from him to the cubs. "For cars? Nick, it'd have to be huge!"

He got up, unable to contain his excitement. "Yeah, yeah, but think about it, Judy. A giant, oval track, maybe somewhere outside of town, where they could all race each other around and around in circles; no traffic in the way, no lights or stop signs, nothing to run into, no pedestrians to worry about," he was grinning ear-to-ear, "it'd be perfect!"

She was still trying to wrap her mind around the size of a track for cars to race on. "It'd have to be gigantic," she protested. "Where would you put something like that? How would you make it?" Her eyes bugged out as another thought occurred to her, "How much would it _cost_? Nick!" Her voice was desperate. "That's impossible!"

"Dumb bunny, sly fox," he chuckled. "I specialize in the impossible."

She punched him, but couldn't help but grin anyway. "Alright, so how you're going to do it, Mister Smart Alec?"

"Easy," he grinned, "I'll tell Bogo and let him have all the headaches of setting it up."

"Ha!" she snorted. "If he's crazy enough to go for that idea, he's smart enough to make sure _you_ have all the headaches of setting it up."

They were both wrong.

Bogo shook his head after Nick finally ran down from explaining the idea. "That's way too big for any of us," he began slowly. He held up a placating paw, "I'm not saying it's a bad idea; actually it's pretty good, but we're just cops, Wilde, we can't tackle a project this size. You're going to have to get City Hall in on it. You know Lionheart has been reinstated as Mayor by the City Council," they nodded, "so it'll have to be up to him. Of course," he cast a jaundiced eye on Judy, "since you arrested him in the first place, I'm not sure how well he'll take to helping you."

She blushed but refused to back down. "I was just doing my job," she insisted stubbornly.

Bogo nodded sympathetically. "I know, I'm just warning you." He glanced at Nick. "Maybe you should leave Hopps out of this one."

"No!"

They both said at once. Bogo wasn't surprised. "Don't say I didn't warn you," he shrugged. He pushed a button on the intercom. "Clawhauser, officers Wilde and Hopps need an appointment to see Mayor Lionheart about the street racers. The sooner the better."

"The mayor? Give me a minute to check," the cheetah puffed good naturedly.

"Fine." Bogo turned back to them. "While we wait, I read that article you sent me. I forwarded it to Lionheart. He wrote back to say he's been following the meteor strike theory for several years, but he'd never heard of the predator-prey angle being connected to it." He gave them a stern look. "I'd keep that one to yourselves if I were you."

They nodded. "Uh," Nick said.

"What?"

"Fangmeyer knows. He said Tyrone was his cousin?"

Bogo nodded casually, "Yeah. He was royally bent out of shape when Tyrone quit the force but he finally came around. I think it was Gazelle who convinced him, but I never asked." He shrugged, "Fangmeyer won't be a problem. He's a good mammal." He paused. "Have you thought about marriage," he asked, clearly uncomfortable with such a personal question.

They exchanged looks. Judy silence indicated to Nick he should take the lead. "We're still working on it, sir. Judy doesn't want to do anything without her family knowing, but they'll argue against it for sure. My mom," he hesitated, "I haven't see her in so many years I don't know what she'd say."

Before he could say more he was interrupted by the intercom. "Chief Bogo?"

He pressed the button in relief. "Yeah?"

"I got them an appointment tomorrow morning at 10," Clawhauser reported enthusiastically.

"Good." He looked at them. "Ten o'clock tomorrow morning, full dress uniforms." Without waiting for their answer he glanced at the clock over his door. "But you've still got several hours before your shift is done. Get out there and catch some more bad guys."

It was a clear dismissal so they left quickly.

The rest of the afternoon was slow though, so slow the hours began to drag. They took another rotation guarding the prison for an hour, this time on the north side. Their shift was finally done and all the officers wanted to take Nick out to a cop bar for drinks to celebrate his first arrest.

The rest of the night was spent in semi-drunken revelry, drinking, swapping stories, telling jokes and even dancing when a live band came out and began playing. Regina, one of the lionesses from Precinct 3, was there, teasing all the predators, dancing with first one then another. Even in her uniform she cut a striking figure, garnering most of the attention for the night.

It was getting late when Judy finally steered Nick out of the bar. They wobbled back to the station to get her truck then slowly drove home. He was already snoozing by the time she parked and she had to wake him. She stayed with him until he was safely in his apartment. They shared a tipsy kiss then said good-night. Back in her place she tossed her clothes to the four winds, collapsed on her bed and was out like a light.

 **For more of my writing, visit my web site**

 **Scribe of Texas (all one word, no spaces) period, then the letters c-o-m**


	4. Chapter 4

Zootopia

Racing on the Wilde Side

Chapter 4

At 10:00 o'clock sharp the two of them were waiting outside Mayor Lionheart's sumptuous office in City Hall, wearing their finest dress uniforms, hats tucked neatly under their arms. The longer they waited the more nervous Judy became. The last time she'd seen Lionheart had been when she was arresting him, just days after he'd been so proud of her for graduating from the Academy at the top of her class. She had no idea how he'd react to her this morning and her nervousness was infecting Nick.

He sniffed the air. "Knock it off, Carrots," he whispered from the side of his mouth. "His nose isn't as good as mine but anyone can tell you're scared. Do multiplication tables in your head or something."

It was probably a good idea but she wasn't given a chance to try it. His secretary, another ewe, Judy noted in passing, glanced at them over her spectacles. "Mayor Lionheart will see you now," she said in a no nonsense, school marm voice.

They stood up in unison. Nick pushed open the door for Judy, then followed her in. Her heart warmed at his little gesture of gentlemanly concern, but it put her front and center in Lionheart's gaze as they approached his desk, the same desk where she'd once tried to resign. She marched in, doing her best to keep her emotions in check. They stopped at attention in front of his desk.

"Officer Hopps reporting," she said stiffly.

"Office Wilde reporting," Nick echoed her.

Lionheart nodded. "At ease, have a seat," he said in his warm, movie star voice. They sat down and he fixed his eyes on Judy. "Officer Hopps, I understand why you did what you did, based on what you knew at the time, but since I've been reinstated and everything is back to normal, why don't we let bygones be bygones and start over?" He stuck a friendly paw over the desk to her.

Startled into complying she shook with him.

He sat back in his chair smiling widely. "I do have say though, I was fairly impressed at how quickly you found me, especially considering that Bogo had been looking for the missing mammals for nearly two weeks."

"I had help, Mister Mayor," she said, indicating Nick. "I'd never have made it if it wasn't for him."

"So I've heard," he rejoined. "In fact, it prompted me to keep tabs on his progress at the Academy, just to see if he was as good as the newspapers said he was." Nick was startled. Lionheart nodded at him, "And it seems you are." He picked up a folder on his desk and opened it. "Except for the names, this could be officer Hopps' file; top of your class, near perfect scores, everything." He tossed it down. "So . . . if Bogo thinks I should talk to the two of you about these street racers," he indicated another file on his crowded desk, "I listen to him." He waved a paw at them. "Start talking."

Nick took the lead, quickly going over their initial encounter with Flash and Lance, then their second encounter the very next day. He talked about Lance's _thrill of the hunt_ idea and how it dovetailed with the report from Zootopia University's Department of Anthropology, minimizing the predator-prey aspects of the paper while emphasizing the asteroid-strike theory and it's application to the _thrill of the hunt_ and their theory that it might even explain the night howler effect on mammals.

Lionheart leaned forward interestedly. "Bogo didn't mention the night howler part."

"We haven't had time to tell him, sir," Judy said, speaking for the first time since her initial exchange with him. "It's all happened pretty fast." But his comment caused her to wonder just how closely Bogo and Lionheart worked together. He seemed to know everything Bogo did.

The mayor nodded, waving for them to continue. Nick plunged in again, explaining that if the theory was right, it meant the _thrill of the hunt_ was genetic and wouldn't be going away anytime soon. Then he launched into his idea for a race track big enough for cars to drive on.

"How many cars?" Lionheart prompted him with a worried frown.

They both shrugged. "It's hard to say, sir," Judy told him, "but from what Flash and Lance said, I got the impression there might be 20 or 30 of them."

"20 or 30?" he roared in astonishment. "Do you have any idea how big a track would have to be for 20 or 30 cars? It'd have be huge!"

Judy nodded sympathetically. "That was my first reaction too."

"And that's why Chief Bogo sent us to you," Nick added quickly. "He said it was way too big for cops to put together. It'd have to be done by the city."

"Oh, you think?" the mayor snorted sarcastically. He stood up to pace back and forth before the window looking out over the city. "I've been following this asteroid-strike theory ever since it came out about ten years ago," he told them, "which would be just a year or so before that paper was written, so I'm well aware of the implications of it, including the predator-prey stuff you skimmed over." He shot a stern look at Nick, who had the grace to look abashed. "I'm not as squeamish as most mammals so you don't have to hide anything from me; my family is directly descended from Mars, the founder those researchers talked about. We know all about his little affair with Venus; the idiot kept a diary!" That last was delivered with a roar of frustration.

"Wait!" Judy interjected, "Mars had a _diary_?" She stared at him in shock, "And you've got it?"

"It's one of our bigger family secrets," Lionheart retorted sharply. He paused, "And one we'd rather not have nosed about in public," he added pointedly.

"But the University and the museum need those kinds of historical documents," she protested. "It's too important for one family to keep all to themselves!"

"They've got a copy!" he roared at her. She shrank back. Nick instinctively sprang to his feet to defend her, then stopped and sat back down. Lionheart looked at him in confusion then ignored it. "My grandfather gave them a copy years ago for research, on the condition that it never, ever, see the light of day."

"But . . . why?" she stuttered.

His shoulders slumped. "Because it's embarrassing," he sighed. "Mars wrote down everything. In embarrassing detail."

"Oh," she said, then her eyes widened as his words sank in. "Oh!"

He favored her with a pained smile. "Oh, indeed." He sat back down with a sigh. "We can't blame him too much, I guess. They were just starting out, didn't know what they were doing, didn't know how to be discreet." He shrugged. "Mars was a product of his times. But this is today, and that diary will never be released to the public." He fixed them with a hard look. "Understood?"

They both nodded. "Yes sir," Judy added quietly.

"Good." He paused to collect his thoughts. "The point I was getting at is; I've known about this asteroid-strike theory for a long time, and this research paper, plus this _thrill of the hunt_ stuff, and your ideas about the night howlers all point in the same direction. Which means," he sighed, "these street racers won't be stopped, can't be stopped, unless they're locked up like the savage mammals were, and that doesn't seem fair." Judy felt a surge of excitement. Was he really heading where she thought he was? A quick look at Nick confirmed he was feeling it too. If Lionheart noticed their reactions, he hid it well. He made up his mind. "A race track for cars would be too big to put in the city; it'll have to be outside the city, in a farmer's field or something." He paused for a moment, a twinkle in his eye. "And since the two of you brought all this up, you'll be the ones to scout out a location for it."

"Uh . . ." For once Nick was speechless.

Judy wasn't though. "But sir! We have patrol duties, we're at work all day! When would we do it? You're not telling us to do it in our off time are you?" Panic seized her, "Are you?" When would she and Nick have any time for themselves?

The mayor laughed softly at her obvious distress. "Calm down, Hopps. It's nothing like that. I'll get Bogo to put you on temporary duty assignment so you can give it your full attention, during the day." She and Nick left out huge sighs of relief. Lionheart paused for a moment, looking back and forth between them with a puzzled expression, then dismissed it and pressed the intercom. "Meredith, get Chief Bogo on the line for me."

'Meredith', the sheep secretary probably, responded immediately, "Right away, Mister Mayor."

Bogo must have been waiting for the call. Meredith came back on the intercom within seconds to tell him, "Chief Bogo is on line 2, sir."

"Thanks." He punched line 2, putting him on speaker phone. "Chief Bogo?"

"Yes, Mister Mayor?"

"Your problem children are here," he gave them a conspiratorial wink, "and they've convinced me we need to build a race track for cars so these idiot racers don't kill themselves on the streets."

"Or anyone else," Bogo interrupted darkly. "We just had another incident, over in the Canal District; three cars. One of them went in the water; we're not sure about the other two, or if there are any casualties. Reports are still coming in."

Lionheart growled deep in his chest. He stifled it by taking a deep breath. "Alright. That just means we have to get moving. This situation is too close to the 'savage mammal' kind of deal; we've got to nip it in the bud before it gets out of hand."

"I agree," Bogo affirmed. "What do you need from me?"

"I need Wilde and Hopps assigned to some kind of temporary duty assignment so they can be free to spend all their time looking for some place to put this race track of theirs."

"It's not _our_ race track," Judy objected indignantly. "It's just our idea to . . ."

Lionheart waved her to silence as Bogo shouted over the phone, "Shut it!" She slumped back with a resentful glare at the mayor. "Send 'em back, Mister Mayor. I've got some new ID's ready and waiting for them."

Lionheart arched an eyebrow at the phone. "You already had new ID's for them before I made my decision? I thought we were going to play it straight with each other from now on?"

Judy gave Nick a questioning peek, but he shook his head in confusion. "Beats me," he whispered. This level of politics was over his head.

"I am playing it straight with you, Leodore," the Chief answered slowly and distinctly after a brief pause, "I just knew there wasn't any other solution. I'm not the stick-in-the-mud you think I am. I can see where this is headed and I don't want to see the city to go through another big scare any more than you do."

Lionheart nodded slowly, then realized Bogo couldn't see him. "Alright," he rumbled. "I'm sending them back. Keep me posted."

"Yes Sir, Mister Mayor," Bogo replied smartly, like a cadet on the parade ground. He hung up.

Lionheart saw the questioning expression on their faces. "After the savage mammal incident was over and I was reinstated, Bogo and I came to an _understanding_ of sorts. We hadn't been getting along for a while and that whole thing showed us we needed to."

Nick held up a placating paw. "Say no more, Mister Mayor. This city needs both of you. Judy and I won't do anything to change it."

"Officer Hopps, you mean," Lionheart corrected him.

Nick was confused. "Hunh?"

"You called her Judy instead of Officer Hopps," the mayor said kindly, as if talking to a child.

"Oh! Well, we're partners, you know. We're on a first name basis."

"I see," Lionheart nodded. "I just thought most officers usually called each other by their last names. My mistake," he smiled grandly, ever the politician. He stood up in dismissal. "Go see Chief Bogo, get your new ID's and find me somewhere to put that race track of yours before mammals start getting killed out there."

"Yes sir," they said in unison. They turned and left. Judy managed to peek back at the mayor as they were exiting the door; he was staring at them with a strange, wondering expression. The moment they were out of earshot Nick let out a huge exhalation of air.

"That was the biggest, fakest smile I've ever seen!" he exclaimed. "My mistake," he mimicked. He shook his head sorrowfully. "I'm sorry, Fluff, I gave us away for sure."

She laid a gentle paw on his arm. "Don't bet on it, Nick. I caught a glimpse of him as we were leaving; he's curious, he's knows something is up but I don't think he knows what. Not yet at least."

His ears were laying flat. "I hope you're right, Judy, I hope you're right."

Seeing his obvious disappointment in himself, she glanced around quickly at the parking garage under City Hall where they'd parked their squad car. Seeing no obvious cameras, or anyone coming, she pulled him behind a concrete pillar and gave him a searing kiss. As always she felt it right down to her toes. It reached him too; she heard his heart start to race, thudding in his chest like a jack hammer. She smiled to herself; it was nice to know she could do that to him even when he was down and out. Her knees were weak and shaky when she pulled back from him; it was nice to know he could do that to her too.

"Better?" she asked teasingly, struggling to catch her breath.

His eyes were dancing. "I don't know, Fluff. I might need a second treatment," he grinned rakishly, reaching for her.

She eeled away from his grasp. "Not now," she squeaked. "I was trying to cheer you up, but let's not push our luck," she said, looking around. Just then a car cruised slowly past, the driver looking for a parking spot. It brought them both back to earth.

"Alright," he sighed regretfully. "But . . . thank you for uh, what was it you said? . . . cheering me up," he winked.

She giggled and punched him. "Get in the car, silly."

City Hall was so close to the station, on opposite sides of the watering hole, it almost would have been faster to walk. The moment they came in, Clawhauser began gesturing for them to get up to Bogo's office. "Where have you been?" he said frantically. "He keeps calling down ever minute wanting to know if you're here yet. Get in there before he burns my ears off."

"Clawhauser! Where are they?" Bogo's voice echoed all over the reception area.

"They're on their way up right now!" Clawhauser yelled back. He shooed them away.

"Wilde! Hopps! Get in here! On the double!" the Chief roared. They broke into a run until they skidded to a halt in front of his desk. He shook a paw full of papers at them. "An antelope was hit by one of those racers in the Canal District. Her two fawns were scared half to death, and she's in the hospital with a broken leg. If she'd fallen in the water she might have drowned," he growled in furious anger. "Now it's gonna be all over the news." He threw some badges at them. "Both of you are temporarily promoted to Detective, effective immediately, and assigned to this case to the exclusion of all else! Understand?"

Nick caught the badges out of the air, examined them briefly then handed Judy hers. They nodded, awestruck by how fast everything was happening, but Bogo was still talking.

"You'll draw Detective's pay and have offices up here with the rest of the detectives, but don't let it go to your heads; the moment this thing is over, you go back on patrol. Got it?"

"Yes sir," they both said.

"Good," he grumbled. "Get out of those uniforms, put on some street clothes, and get out there and find me someplace for that race track before the city gets turned into a war zone!" He went over to the door and bellowed, "Tongas!"

A moment later a wolf, Captain Tongas showed up. "Yeah, Chief?"

"Show Wilde and Hopps where their office is and get 'em situated." He turned and fixed them with a gimlet eye, "I don't want to see you two in there for long though; I want you out finding a place for that track." He pushed them out of his office and slammed the door.

They stared at the door for a moment of stunned silence. Finally they turned and found Tongas watching them with amusement. "Don't you just love how sweet and wonderful he is?" Judy gasped with shock but Nick erupted in soft laughter. "Come on, I'll show your office, but it doesn't sound like you're going to get much use out of it." He led them down a short hall to a set of double doors that simply said – Detectives. He pushed through them into a large square room filled with tables and chairs. Offices lined all the walls. He pointed off to the right, "Office 6N is yours, the 'n' is for north. Your computer logons have been upgraded to detective level, so you'll see some new options when you log on." He pointed to another set of doors opposite the ones they'd come in through. "My office is down that hall at the end, but don't come down there unless the building is on fire. If you've got any questions, ask someone else." He took off and left them standing there.

"Uh . . ." Judy stared after his retreating backside in surprise. Whatever she'd thought being a detective would be like, this wasn't it.

"My thoughts exactly," Nick said in a bemused tone. He shrugged. "Come on, Fluff. Let's see what our office looks like." He wove his way across the room and opened the door of 6N.

The office was 12x12, with two desks shoved together facing each other in the middle of the room, with chairs that had seen better days for each of them. There was a row of empty filing cabinets along the back wall. A phone sat on each desk, next to a flickering computer monitor displaying a logon screen. In the corner behind the door was a coat rack. Otherwise the room was achingly empty and bare. The walls were a drab, institutional green.

Judy shook her head in despair. "Oh joy," she muttered. "Just what I always wanted."

Nick had to agree. "Our cubicles downstairs are better than this." He sighed, "Which desk do you want?"

"The one next to the door," she said right away. "The way the door swings open doesn't leave much room. It'll be easier for me to get in and out than it will be for you."

His eyebrows climbed. "Hadn't thought of that," he admitted.

"Sly bunny, dumb fox," she grinned, plopping down in her chair.

He closed the door with a laugh. Testing his chair he found he had to adjust the height and tilt somewhat to make it comfortable. Judy was already doing the same for hers. He opened the metal drawers one at a time – all empty except for the middle one, that had a few pencils and frayed rubber bands in it. "We'll need some office supplies," he noted dryly. He looked around. "And a trash can," he added sourly, reaching for the phone.

She stopped him quickly. "Don't bother. It'll probably take too long. Let's just get our own stuff at the store later today. It'll be quicker, and we'll get what we want without having to fill out a million requisition forms or something. Then we'll apply for a reimbursement."

He sketched a salute. "Alrighty then, what's our first step?" he asked, leaning back in his creaking chair.

Before she could answer the door swung open and Tongas tossed a set of keys on her desk. "You can't drive a squad car here. We all have sedans. Yours is Delta 9. Be sure to fill it up at the same stations you used for your squad car." He shut the door again before they could say anything.

"Well, that answers a question I hadn't even thought to ask," Judy snorted, twirling the keys. She looked at Nick. "I guess we need a list of parcels of land big enough to hold a race track."

He nodded. "Which means back to City Hall."

"After we change clothes," she reminded him.

"Ah, that I don't mind," he smiled. "I like the uniform, but I like my own clothes better."

Half an hour later they met in the elevator at their apartment building. He was dressed once more pretty much as he always was, but she'd chosen some comfortable jeans, a casual top and a light summer jacket. "You're looking good today, Detective Hopps," he said, giving her a quick kiss as they rode the elevator down to the lobby.

As always his kisses took her breath away. "Why thank you, Detective Wilde," she whispered against his lips. "You're not looking too bad yourself." The elevator chimed and they stepped away from each other before the door opened.

Forcing herself to focus on the task at hand instead of her handsome partner, she mused aloud, "So exactly how big a parcel are we looking for? We haven't sat down to figure out how big the track should be."

"I've been thinking about it," he smirked, "and I'd say the track itself needs to be at least a mile long with turns at either end that are around half to three quarters of a mile long, and wide enough for 8-10 cars to drive abreast all the way around." Her eyes widened. He nodded but kept going, "So a parcel big enough to hold that, with room left over for unforeseen needs should probably be at least two miles long and a mile-and-a-half wide."

"You don't think small, do you?" She shook her head in bemusement.

"You saw Flash and Lance's cars, how fast they are. If they can't really open them up on the track, they'll go back to the streets. It's got to be big enough so they can go all out," he countered reasonably. He opened the passenger door of their new car and got in. The "sedan" as Tongas referred to it was simply a black, unmarked squad car. Aside from not having a partition between the front and back seats, it had everything a regular squad car did. They had magnetic lights they could put on the roof during a chase, and the siren was hidden behind the front grill, but otherwise it was identical to the cars the patrol officers used.

"I guess," Judy answered uncertainly, "but it's going to narrow down our options. There aren't many parcels that big."

Her prediction was born out two hours later when the officious clerk at City Hall finally handed them a printout of land parcels in the area matching their needs; it was distressingly short. "That's it?" Judy exclaimed. "Only 8?"

The aging badger behind the desk shrugged unconcernedly. "City jurisdiction only goes so far. After that you'll need to see the county commissioners."

Judy wanted to wring his furry neck but she turned and walked out, clenching her teeth. "Of all the hide-bound, bureaucratic idiots in town, we had to get stuck with him," she gritted. "We ought to shoot him out a cannon or something."

Nick laughed softly. "You take life too seriously, sweetheart. Loosen up before life takes you seriously. Besides," he reached over her head to pluck the list out of her paw, "one these will be fun to investigate no matter what."

"Why?"

"Because," he answered smoothly, "it belongs to Zootopia University, where that paper was written."

Her head whipped around so fast he was afraid she was going to break her neck. "What?!" She snatched the paper out of his paw and ran her eyes down the list. "Sweet cheese and crackers! I've been wanting to talk to those researchers –"

"– and now we can without taking any time away from our street racer case," he finished for her. "Or very much time anyway."

She jumped up and down. "Yes! Nick, you're a genius!"

"Well, above average maybe," he smiled indulgently.

"Nope! Loving you makes me a smart bunny, remember? And I'm smart enough to declare you a genius, so there!" she giggled, nearly giddy with delight at the prospect of getting to interview the people who'd wrote the paper that turned her life upside-down.

"Well, who am I to argue with that kind of logic?" he drawled. He waved her ahead of him out the door. "After you milady."

Zootopia University was just ten minutes away from Downtown. It was located on the northwestern edge of Savanna Central, just off the Zootopia Loop Subway line. The loop went all the way around Zootopia, north through the Rainforest District, across the water into the Canal District, then east into Tundratown before turning south to Sahara Square, then west through Savanna Central. But just as it turned north again it split into a smaller, secondary loop that swung out over the water to the southern part of the Canal District. When it looped back to rejoin the main line, the University was just west of the juncture, north of the secondary loop. There, a small finger of Savanna Central land stuck up north until it met the Rainforest District to the north, and the Canal District to the west. According to the listing the clerk gave them, the parcel they were interested in was part of the school's athletic fields, right on the waters edge.

Rather than wading through the bureaucracy at the Administration Building, they decided to walk over and examine the area first, then if it looked good they could talk to the Dean. It turned out to be a much quicker method; they only had to flash their badges once when a coach challenged them, wanting to know what they were doing out behind the Track and Field buildings.

It was a good thing they took the "short cut" as Nick referred to it, because when they stopped at the low fence, separating them from their destination, they stared at it in dismay. "That's not _land_ ," Judy protested bitterly.

"Well, it's not exactly water either," Nick noted philosophically, "so I guess they can call it whichever one they want and still be at least a little bit right." He pulled out their list and drew a line through that one. "On the bright side; one down, only seven to go."

"I call it a swamp," she sniffed in disgust, eyeing the marshy expanse with distaste. "A stinky one," she added, wrinkling her nose.

Nick was way ahead of her on that one. He'd smelled it before it came into sight. "Come on, Fluff, we couldn't expect to strike pay dirt on the first one," he said, trying to console her. He nuzzled her neck to take her mind off the boggy mess before them.

She shivered as chills ran down her spine. "Mister Wilde, I'll give you exactly three hours to stop that," she mock threatened him. He nuzzled her again. "Well, maybe four hours." She spun around to throw her arms around his neck. "If you keep this up we'll never have time to talk to those researchers," she whispered against his mouth.

"What researchers?" he teased, nibbling at her lower lip.

She beat on his chest – a futile gesture – without really trying to get away. "Oh, sweet cheese and crackers, what you do to me!" She arched head back to look at him, "But why now?"

"Trying to cheer you up, angel face. You looked down in the dumps about this place," he indicated the soggy land around them.

"Of course I'm down in the dumps, because this place _is_ a dump," she giggled brightly. She forced herself to pull out of his embrace. "Nick! Stop it! I really want to talk to those researchers. There'll be time enough for this tonight."

He sighed deeply. "Alright, Carrots. I want to talk to them too, but it's hard when you're around and we're alone and you're so beautiful." All the teasing was gone from his voice; he meant every word.

She laid a tender paw on his face. "I know," she whispered. She broke away and headed back before she could sink any further into his eyes.

They trudged silently back to the main campus, then had to ask several different mammals before they could find one that knew the way to the Anthropology Department. It was an impressive building, 7 stories high, of white washed stone, balconies and sparkling windows. The main entrance hall was a vast echoing space, with semi-circular stairs on either side of the room heading up to the second floor balcony. The receptionist graciously told them where to find Dr.'s Huffer and Fürlong in their 7th floor offices. She advised them to take the elevator while there was still time; classes were about to let out and the halls were going to become very crowded with students heading out for lunch. It would probably take Huffer and Fürlong several minutes to get up there, depending on how long their students wanted to stay and talk after class.

They took her advice and were glad they did. The bell went off as they were riding up. When they exited the elevator they could hear the noise of hundreds of feet echoing up the stairwells from the lower floors, along with a hubbub of voices, laughter and shouts. From the elevators they turned left to offices 714 and 716, side-by-side, halfway down the hall. Both doors were locked and no one answered when they knocked. "I guess we wait," Nick shrugged.

Judy nodded at a padded bench just down the hall. "At least we can get comfortable."

It was a good thing the bench was padded; it was nearly half-an-hour before Huffer finally showed up. He was a mid-sized polar bear, somewhat scruffy in appearance, wearing a tweed jacket over an open necked shirt. He had a huge briefcase tucked under his arm, papers bulging out of it as he fumbled with the key to his office.

Nick bounced over to grab it as it started to slip. "Here, let me help you with that," he said in his best eager-beaver voice.

"Why thank you, young sir," Huffer rumbled from deep in his chest. "That's very kind of you, very kind indeed." He got the door open and led them into a fair sized office. It was a typical professor's office; bookshelves lining the walls, several sagging chairs sat facing a massive desk, and a number of low tables overloaded with books, papers and charts were scattered about haphazardly. The desk was also piled high, nearly to the point being completely buried. An ashtray with several pipes in it sat precariously on top of a stack of papers, threatening to fall over at any second. Huffer took the briefcase from Nick and dumped it unceremoniously in one of the chairs. He peered at them curiously. "What class are you in? I don't recognize you."

"No, I know," Judy said quickly. "We're not students." She flashed her badge, "Detective Judy Hopps, ZPD, and my partner, Detective Nick Wilde. We're looking for an expert witness to help us with a case and you and your associate, professor Fürlong, may be just what we're looking for."

He blinked and sat down. "Really? I can't imagine how but I'll certainly do whatever I can. What do you need?"

Nick fished out a printed copy of the paper they'd written and passed it to him. "Do you remember this research paper you and Fürlong published several years ago?"

Huffer's attitude underwent a subtle, but significant shift. He no longer appeared to be an affable, lovable old professor. Caution covered his face. "I remember," he said shortly. Even his voice was different, no longer as friendly.

Nick hesitated, wondering at his sudden change, then plunged into a quick description of their problems with the street racers, Lance's _thrill of the hunt_ theory and the tie-in with their paper on predator-prey romance, all due to a hypothetical asteroid or meteor strike 2000 years ago, leading to a sudden massive change in mammals that wasn't due to evolution as was popularly supposed.

"It's been almost 9 years since you and professor Fürlong published your findings," Judy added. "We were wondering if you'd come up with anything new since then? Or maybe there was something you left out of your original work that might help us." She paused, "And well, it also might help us if we could interview the three predator-prey couples you said were currently alive; if we could talk to –"

"NO!" Huffer thundered. "That is absolutely out of the question!"

Judy was shocked at his vehemence. "But if we could jus –"

Huffer slammed his fist on the desk as he surged to his feet, baring his teeth in a savage growl. "I said, NO!" he roared, shaking the room.

Judy squeaked in fear, skittering away from him. Nick leapt to protect her, his own teeth gleaming white as he growled and prepared for battle against his larger opponent. "Touch her and you're dead!" he snarled defiantly.

The two predators faced off against each other for a moment longer before a look of surprised realization dawned on Huffer's face, draining all the fight out of him in a single moment. He fell back into his chair with a muffled thump, looking back-and-forth at them. "Shards of ice," he muttered in disbelief, "you're another couple! Aren't you?"

Judy felt her face congeal, Nick looked the same, stiff and blank. "What are you talking about?" she said woodenly. She didn't sound convincing, even to herself.

Huffer waved a hand as if trying to sweep away an invisible fog. "Don't play games," he growled irritably, "you're a couple just like me and Shelly."

"Shelly?" Nick asked slowly. "Wait, you mean your associate, Dr. Shelly Fürlong?"

"What about me?" a new voice asked. Nick and Judy turned to the door. A slender caribou, large but dainty looking in comparison to Huffer, had entered the room through a side door leading to an adjacent office. A puzzled expression covered her face as she took in the tense tableau in the room, "What's going on?"

"Dr. Huffer said you two were a couple," Judy explained shortly, watching her closely, "a romantic, predator-prey couple."

Her eyes widened in fear. "Larry!" she gasped.

He rose quickly to wrap his arms around her. "It's alright, baby," he soothed her. "They are too."

Her head swiveled like a top. "What!?"

He nodded. "We just realized it about each other when you walked in." He paused uncertainly. "Right?"

Nick and Judy nodded together. He moved over to drape a protective arm around her shoulders. "And your paper on the subject described us to a T," he told them. "When a case came up that gave us a legitimate excuse for talking to you, well, we jumped at it."

Shelly pushed herself away from Larry. "Case? What case?"

They took turns bringing her up to speed then Judy finished, "We think you're really on to something, and we think it ties into our case. Or our case ties into it. Whichever," she shrugged. Larry sat back down in his chair, pulling Shelly into his lap; she wound her arms around his neck in what was obviously an oft practiced gesture. Judy was fascinated watching them. "Aren't you self-conscious doing that in front of others?" she wondered.

Shelly smiled indulgently. "A little," she admitted, "but it helped gain the confidence of the other two couples we interviewed for our paper, and . . . it's actually a relief not to have to hide."

"Two couples?" Nick questioned her. "Your paper said there were _three_ couples." Shelly lifted one eyebrow at him, patiently waiting for the truth to reveal itself to him. For a long moment he was perplexed then it hit him. "Oh." He frowned, "You interviewed _yourselves_?"

"I wouldn't say we interviewed ourselves so much as we compared our personal history with what we learned from the others," Larry countered pedantically.

"Who were they?" Judy asked softly.

Larry and Shelly looked silently at each other. She shrugged infinitesimally. "One couple was a cougar and a doe, Robert Padfoot and Linda Stepps." he answered. "They run a diner a little ways outside of town. The other couple were very old and frail; a wolf and a sheep. They'd had a really bad experience when they were young, so they were terribly frightened; never told us their real names, where they lived or any identifying information." He made a face. "Can't really blame them, I suppose."

Judy twined her arms around Nick's waist and leaned her head on his chest, her heart pounding momentarily from anticipatory fear. When Larry and Shelly just smiled at her she relaxed a bit and enjoyed the sensation of being able to show her true feelings for Nick in front of someone else for a change. His arms wound around her while his heart pounded in exhilaration in her ears. "This is nice," she half-whispered to him.

"It is, Fluff, it is." He glanced at their companions behind the desk. "Sorry," he muttered, "but this is still new to us."

Shelly nodded sympathetically. "No need to apologize," she smiled. "We've 'been there, done that,' as they say."

He laughed nervously, "I guess you have." Judy heard his heart change it's rhythm as he determinedly changed the subject. "What about this _thrill of the hunt_ thing our friend Lance came up with? Do you think it has any connection to your research? To the asteroid thing? To any of it?"

The mood in the room changed. Shelly pursed her lips and suddenly she was Dr. Fürlong again. "We'd have to conduct some extensive interviews with these street racers to know for sure, but at first glance it certainly seems to all be cut from the same cloth. It's a fascinating idea."

"But why haven't we had problems like this before?" Judy asked, leaning forward. "Why is it happening now? All at once?"

"I can't give you a definitive answer right now," Dr. Huffer said, "but off the top of my head I can give you one good reason for it; technological advancement." He saw their puzzled expressions and hurried to explain. "Up until our grandparent's day, mammals spent most of their waking hours working to survive; planting crops, chopping wood, washing clothes by hand, building our own houses, doing all our own repair work on our tools, and so on and so forth. It was a full-time job just staying alive. There wasn't time for the _thrill of the hunt_ for them. And by the time the day was over, they were so tired they fell into bed and went right to sleep. Then the next morning they got up and did it all over again."

"But with all the technological advancements of the past 70-90 years, suddenly we have all these labor saving devices," Dr. Fürlong chimed in, "and our full-time job of survival became a part-time one, even less. For the first time in history we have the time and energy to indulge ourselves in frivolous pursuits, we have the time to get swept up in this _thrill of the hunt_ thing of yours." Huffer nodded his agreement. "It makes perfect sense if you think about it," she concluded.

Judy felt a frisson of fear tickle her spine. From the reaction of Nick's heart she could tell he was feeling the same thing. "But that means this is just the beginning," she protested. "There'll be more incidents like this, more mammals finding ways to trigger that feeling, more accidents when things go wrong, more . . ."

". . . more chaos," Nick finished for her. Clearly he was as worried as she was. "There aren't enough cops to handle something like that. Too many mammals doing this could tear our city apart, tear our whole civilization apart!"

Huffer blinked ponderously. "I hadn't thought of that, but I suppose you're right," he agreed slowly. He looked at Fürlong and she nodded reluctantly. She stood up.

"This could be bad," she told them, "really bad."

 **For more of my writing, visit my web site**

 **Scribe of Texas (all one word, no spaces) period, then the letters c-o-m**


	5. Chapter 5

Zootopia

Racing on the Wilde Side

Chapter 5

Judy and Nick had made as quick an escape from Huffer's office as they'd been able to without being obvious about it, but evading their feelings of dread hadn't been so easy. The rest of the day they'd gone from one plot of land to another, looking for somewhere to put the race track, using the busy work to keep from being drowned by the sense of racing against a biological time bomb.

By the end of the day they'd eliminated four more sites, narrowing their list of possibilities down to three. They went home, picked at their food, and tried to talk. When that didn't lighten the mood they kissed and hugged, but this time it seemed they were doing it more for comfort than passion. They fell asleep on Judy's couch until almost midnight before she nudged him out the door, shrugged off her clothes and fell into bed.

After a morning shower and change of clothes, she went up to Nick's apartment. He was dressed but just sitting down to breakfast when she knocked. "It's open," he called.

She went and poured herself a cup of coffee. "Want some company?" she asked over her shoulder, spooning liberal helpings of sugar into her cup.

"Only if it's you," he replied as lightheartedly as he could, but it felt forced.

She sat down stirring her coffee while he picked at his scrambled eggs, pretending to eat. "Even if we find the perfect spot for the race track and it solves the street racer problem once and for all, it still doesn't help with the bigger problem," she said without preamble. He nodded desultorily. "We can't fight our own biology," she added, still stirring her coffee absentmindedly.

"I've been thinking the same thing," he agreed, "but there _has_ to be an answer!"

"But what?" she asked, trying not to sound hopeless.

He tossed his fork down with a clatter. "I don't know," he admitted, "but there has to be."

She smiled sympathetically. "Wanting there to be doesn't mean there will be," she told him quietly, wishing she had something better for him.

He looked up with a flash of anger, the first real show of emotion either of them had displayed since leaving Huffer's office. "Everyone at the station is calling us heavy hitters because they think we're these big brains that can figure out anything," he snapped, jumping to his feet. "We should at least _try_ to live up to that billing."

The slow _thump-thump_ of his heart was speeding up as he talked and paced the room. Judy perked up watching him. "You think we can solve something like this?"

"Who knows unless we try?" he said, answering her question with his own.

She quit stirring her coffee and set her spoon down. "We've got a solution to the street racer problem – if we can find somewhere to put it, but then what? We don't even know what the next problem will be, or the next, or the next, or the next."

"Whoa, slow down, Judy. How do you eat a watermelon?" he asked rhetorically.

She blinked at the inanity of his sudden descent to childhood questions. "One bite at a time. So what?"

He sat down and took her paws in his. "So, maybe we don't have to do it all at once. Maybe we can solve one problem at a time as they come up, just like eating a watermelon."

"One bite at a time, hunh?" She felt a genuine smile steal across her face.

"Yep!" The old gleam was back in his eyes.

She could hear his heart returning to it's usual quick rhythm as his mood brightened. "Sly fox," she said admiringly. He grinned ear-to-ear. "And for that, you get a reward." She leaned across the table and kissed him. Their passion flared as his heart jumped into a gallop.

He eased back, smelling her arousal. "A reward for me or a reward for you?" he teased.

She teased right back, "Yes."

They laughed together then turned to their breakfast with renewed vigor. Suddenly they were famished. After several minutes of inhaling their food they began to slow down. "So what's next on the list," Judy asked, warming up her coffee. She held up the pot to ask if he wanted some. He nodded and she poured it for him.

He pulled out the list the clerk had given them. "The next two are practically side-by-side," he said. "They're in the farm land south of the city, on the other side of the lake. The railroad is pretty much the dividing line between them," he added, referring to the rail line Judy had ridden during her initial trip to Zootopia to begin her first assignment as a cop.

She nodded. "The bridge is just a mile or to the west of the railroad." She looked around. "Have you got a map?"

He nodded and went to the bookcase to pull out one of the books everyone received while they were at the Police Academy. He thumbed through it until he found the insert. "Here it is." He spread it out on the table as she shoved their breakfast dishes out of the way. "Here's the railroad," he said, pointing to it. "And the land on either side must be the plots on our list."

Judy nodded absently, trying to find the best way from the bridge over to the area he was indicating. "This looks like the shortest route," she announced. "We can probably be there in about . . . I don't know, twenty minutes or so?"

"Twenty, twenty five," he agreed. "What are we waiting for then?"

"I guess I was waiting for Bogo to dismiss us from the bull pen," Judy admitted, realizing the truth of it only as she said it. "It becomes a habit after a while. This detective stuff takes some getting used to."

"It does feel a little weird doesn't it?" he agreed, grabbing the keys to their sedan. As detectives they had an assigned car that stayed with them, so they could drive it home at night if they wanted to. They had decided to take turns doing the driving; today was his turn. "Come on, angel face, let's roll."

She loved the little endearments he'd been coming up with. "Lead the way," she sang gaily.

But an hour later she was feeling as sour as the gruff old beaver who all but thrown them off his land. The two parcels weren't two different plots after all; they were one piece of land bisected by a railroad right-of-way the city had strong armed the beaver into selling from his ancestral family farm, threatening to condemn the whole thing if he didn't assent to parting with a thin slice of it. Needless to say it left a bad taste in his mouth and he was more than happy to exact a measure of revenge by refusing to help them with a "city problem" as he put it. The fact he was technically within the city limits meant nothing to him. He'd even threatened to put them under citizens arrest for trespassing if they didn't leave. Not wishing to test how that would play out, they'd grudgingly left, to his evident delight.

"Well there's a candidate for citizen of the year," Nick grumbled sarcastically. For once Judy didn't upbraid him for his sarcasm. If anything, she agreed with him. The old farmer had all the charm of a moldy onion. Before she could say anything though he suddenly changed the subject. "Hey, you feel stopping for a quick bite?" he asked.

She started to protest it was only mid-morning but her stomach rumbled, reminding her they hadn't eaten much at breakfast. "I guess so, but where?"

"I noticed a little roadside diner just this side of the bridge before we turned off on this road," he said. "It was the Toe-and-something I think."

Judy shrugged. "Sure, why not?

It turned out to be called the Hoof & Claw, a small, two-story building about ½ mile from the bridge, set back from the road by a gravel parking lot and a row of scrawny pine trees. There were two gas pumps outside and part of the diner seemed to be given over to small grocery store. "Sort of an all-purpose general store," Judy observed as Nick pulled in.

"Looks like it," he nodded, sniffing the breeze. "Oh yeah, fried fish patties," he exclaimed.

The weather beaten front of the store offered a shaded wooden porch with a scattering of old rocking chairs and a screen door whose hinges creaked as they opened it and went in. A group of beavers, badgers, and gophers, all wearing overalls and Hoof Locker baseball caps were gathered at a round table, their dirty dishes pushed back from them as they sat drinking coffee and comparing notes. They glanced up as Nick and Judy came in then went back to their discussion.

A doe wearing a standard waitress uniform bustled over to them. Her name tag said Linda. "Sit anywhere you like, folks," she invited them in a pleasant country voice. "The breakfast rush is over and lunch hasn't started yet so you've got your choice." Aside from the farmers they were the only other customers.

Nick led them over to a table away from the farmers. He held a chair for Judy as she sat down. "I smelled fish patties when we pulled into the parking lot," he told the waitress. "Any chance we can get some?" He looked at Judy and she nodded. Fish patties sounded good to her too.

Linda smiled at them. "Fish patties are one of Robert's specialties. I'm sure he'd be happy to whip up a batch for you."

"Thank you," Judy said.

"Anything to drink?" Linda asked as she pulled out her pad.

"Water for me," Judy said. "Nick?" He was gazing off in the distance, seemingly distracted.

"Make it two," he nodded abruptly.

Judy could tell he didn't have the slightest idea what he'd just ordered. She waited until Linda disappeared behind the counter into the kitchen. "Hey! Earth to Nick."

He blinked, then suddenly he was back from wherever he'd been. "Didn't Huffer and Fürlong mention a predator-prey couple named Robert and Linda who ran a diner outside of town?" he asked in a low voice.

Judy started in surprise. "Yes!" She glanced toward the kitchen. She couldn't see the cook from this angle. "A cougar and a doe. You think this is them?"

"It's a pretty big coincidence running into them like this, but yeah, I think it is," he nodded, trying to see into the kitchen without being obvious about it.

"Maybe not," Judy argued. "What if there's some kind of connection that draws us to others like us?"

"What if frogs had wings?" he smirked. "Come on, Fluff, you're really stretching there."

She was indignant. "I am not."

They fell silent as Linda returned with two glasses of water. "Robert will have those fish patties done in a jiffy," she said brightly. Before they could answer or say anything she hurried away to the cash register where the farmers were preparing to leave. It took several noisy minutes before they'd all paid their bill and left, the last one grabbing a toothpick on his way out the door.

The swinging doors to the kitchen swung open and a cougar wearing a chef's apron over jeans and a T-shirt came out carrying two steaming plates of freshly cooked fish patties. Nick's eyes lit up as he sniffed the air. "Those smell delicious!" he exclaimed as the cook set them down.

Judy's nose wasn't as sharp as Nick's but she agreed, they smelled wonderful. "Thank you . . ." she said, pausing to let him fill in the blank.

"Robert," he said, wiping his paws on his apron before shaking. "Or Rob or Bob; I answer to any of them."

"Judy Hopps," she replied, "and this is my partner, Nick Wilde."

"Partner?" Linda inquired, coming up behind Robert.

"We're detectives with the ZPD," Judy answered for both of them, watching with some amusement as Nick busied himself shoving fish patties in his mouth like he was starving. "We're trying to find a place to put a race trace for some street racers that have been causing problems in the city."

Robert frowned. "You mean a race track for cars? It'd have to be gigantic!" Linda's eyes were wide with astonishment.

"Why does everyone keep telling us that like we've never thought of it before?" Nick wondered sarcastically, trying to smother a satisfied burp.

"Nick," Judy remonstrated with him gently.

"Old habits," he smiled apologetically, "sorry, angel face."

Judy froze with a bite of fish halfway to her mouth. As much as she loved his little endearments, hearing him use them in front of someone else terrified her. But a sideways glance showed Robert and Linda were also frozen in place, staring at them in confusion, poised in a "fight or flight" mode. She set her fork down, and taking a chance, reached across the table to take Nick's paw in hers.

"You're one of the couples Huffer and Fürlong interviewed, aren't you?" she asked softly, trying not to alarm them.

They looked at each other with one of the looks old married couples share, exchanging volumes of information unintelligible to outsiders in a single moment. Nick and Judy watched this little byplay with interest; it confirmed they were indeed the couple Huffer and Fürlong had told them about.

Robert and Linda slid their arms around each others waist. "Yes," Linda answered in the same quiet voice. "And you're those cops that solved the _savage mammals_ case several months ago, aren't you?"

"That's when we fell for each other," Nick replied, trying to set them at ease.

Robert nodded absently. "You know, it's been so long since Huffer and Fürlong interviewed us, I'd almost forgotten about it," he mused. "Did you talk to them about us?"

Nick gestured for them to pull up a couple of chairs. "A little, but mainly we went to see them about us and the street racers."

Linda cocked her head to the side. "You say that like they're connected."

"We think they are," Judy said, launching into a lengthy explanation of the street racers, Lance's _thrill of the hunt_ theory and the details of the paper Huffer and Fürlong had written. She concluded with Huffer's off-the-cuff comments about technology giving mammals time enough to be bored, thus setting up their quest for some excitement leading to outrageous behavior and the _thrill of the hunt_ adrenaline rush that accompanied it.

"Linda and I met at work," Robert told them. "I was working my way through college as a truck driver while I majored in philosophy. I never finished my graduate studies but from what I know everything you're saying makes sense."

"Maybe you should finish them," Linda prodded him. "How many times have I told you?"

Robert was embarrassed. "Linda thinks some of my ideas are so good I should finish my degree and write a book."

"Well, we always want our males to do good," Judy said, sharing a conspiratorial look with Linda. "To be the best of the best." Nick and Robert rolled their eyes helplessly as the ladies burst out laughing at them.

"So who owned this place when you met?" Judy asked when their laughter died down.

Linda shook her head. "Oh, we didn't meet here. I was a dispatcher at Garlic & Clove Trucking Company when Robert started driving . . ."

"Wait a minute!" Nick interrupted her abruptly. "You worked at Garlic & Clove? My _mother_ works there!"

She paused, thinking. "You mean Faye Wilde? _Faye_ is your mother? Oh my goodness! She was the only one there who didn't condemn Robert and I when the truth came out about us."

Nick was stunned. He looked at Judy, thinking about their discussion of how their parents would react to their relationship. It looked like he had an answer. He could tell she was thinking the same thing. "What happened?" Judy asked for him.

Linda looked at Robert, inclining her head for him to tell the tale. He shrugged and proceeded. "From the day we met there was something going on between us. We wound up spending a lot of time together at lunch and on breaks, just talking and having fun together. After a while things seemed to settle down a bit and it might not have gone anywhere until we were out in the warehouse one day going over some manifests. A forklift backed into one the tall metal shelves that had all these heavy pallets on it; knocked it right over on us."

Judy gasped in horror.

He nodded at her reaction. "It nearly got us. To this day I'm still not sure how we made it out in one piece. I remember pulling her out of the way of a pallet, then she pushed me out of the way of another one. It happened so fast all I can remember is bits and pieces but after that, I don't know," he reached over to take her hoof in his paw, "I kept thinking she could have gotten out without me, but she stayed right beside me the whole time. I saw how brave and beautiful she is and . . ." he shrugged, ". . . well, there was just no going back."

They smiled fondly at each other.

"But we got careless." His smile dimmed. "A supervisor caught us kissing out behind the maintenance shed one day and that was all she wrote."

"Faye was the payroll clerk who cut our final checks," Linda added, "and she put something extra in both checks for us. She said it wasn't right for mammals to be so close minded."

"It was quite a bit extra really," Robert took over. "By combining both our checks we bought this place, refurbished it, and opened for business. If it wasn't for her I don't know what we'd have done."

"Where do you live?" Nick asked curiously.

"Upstairs," Linda answered. "There's a little apartment up there."

"Don't your customers ever wonder what's going on with you two?" Judy wondered.

Robert made a see-sawing motion in the air with his paw. "We get some odd looks now and then, but as long as we don't rub it in anyone's faces they really don't care. Country folk are a little more forgiving than city folk sometime."

"Not all the time," Nick snorted indignantly. "You should have seen that farmer we talked to before we came here." He explained they'd talked to him about using his land for their race track idea.

"Ian McDonald? He's the sourpuss of the county," Linda laughed, "but he comes by it honestly. He really did get the short end of the stick on that railroad deal. Mayor Bogo treated him like dirt."

" _Mayor_ Bogo?" Nick and Judy exclaimed in disbelief.

"I guess you don't pay much attention to city politics," Robert told them. "Chief Bogo's father was the mayor before Lionheart ran against him and beat the pants off him. Now the Chief and the Mayor can't stand each other because of it. There's all kinds of bad blood between them."

"That explains a lot," Nick said to Judy.

"Does it ever!" she replied.

Nick saw them watching them and waved it off. "Long story," he said dismissively. He glanced at the clock. "We'd better get going to that last piece of property," he told Judy. She nodded, finishing the last of her fish patties. They really were excellent.

They all stood up and moved toward the cash register. "Where is it?" Robert asked casually as Linda rang up their bill. Judy showed him their map and he shook his head immediately. "They won't sell," he told her adamantly. "I grew up in that neighborhood. All the land belongs to the home owner's association. They sell it off one lot at a time as new houses are built and make a _killing_ from it. No way they'll let any of it go."

Nick and Judy were dismayed. "But that's the last plot on our list," Judy objected. "There's nothing else big enough."

Robert and Linda exchanged one of their "married couple" looks and apparently came to an agreement. "Does it have to be one large piece of land," Robert asked, "or can it be several smaller ones right next to each other?"

Nick and Judy echoed them by exchanging one of their own looks. "Either way, I guess," he said, "but it means we'll have to persuade that many more mammals. It makes it that much harder." Judy nodded in agreement. It multiplied the difficulty of an already impossible task.

"Not if they're all owned by the same mammal," Linda told them gently.

Judy's ears perked up. "Really?"

"Come outside a minute," Robert said, heading for the door. They trailed behind him uncertainly. He led them to the south end of the gravel parking lot. "See all that land?" he asked, pointing to the wide flat valley floor. "It's divided into six pieces, but about seven or eight years ago some big celebrity from town bought all six of them for a tax write off."

"Who?" Judy asked excitedly.

"No one knows, but there should be records at City Hall," Linda reminded them. "Since you're cops . . ." She trailed off, leaving them to come to the obvious conclusion.

"We can get them!" Nick grinned.

Before they left they exchanged phone numbers with their new friends and urged them to reconnect with Huffer and Fürlong. "There aren't many of us and we need to support and help each other all we can. Think about it," Judy prompted them. They promised to consider it as they waved good-bye.

"Wow," Nick muttered as they headed back across the bridge into town. "You may be right, Judy, maybe couples like us _are_ drawn to each other somehow. They had what we needed and we may have had what they needed, or at least the encouragement they needed."

She laid a soft paw on his arm as he drove. "You have what I need and I have what you need, why shouldn't it work on a larger scale too?"

"Well all things considered, I'd have to say you're right," he agreed in his most reasonable tone. "Of course it's not all fun and games, we're gonna have to deal with that old stick-in-the-mud clerk at City Hall again."

Sure enough the clerk was just as slow and officious as before. He almost reminded Judy of the sloths at the DMV with his ponderously slow movements and speech. But his attitude of barely deigning to condescend to stoop to their level made him a million times worse to put up than the merely slow moving sloths. By the time they got out of his office with a sealed envelope in their possession Judy was fit to be tied. "I'll take Flash over that idiot any day of the week and twice on Sunday," she griped as they headed toward the station. He'd demanded they sign a waiver committing them to opening the envelope only in absolute privacy. Their office was the closest place they could think of.

"I told you," Nick responded smoothly, "but I know the feeling. Flash at least has a sense of humor. That guy looks like he bit into a lemon."

They managed to avoid running into Bogo on the way to their office. They didn't want to face him until they had some good news. The number of street racers was growing and the police couldn't keep up. Bogo's attitude wouldn't be helped by a negative report from them.

They closed the door and sat down at their respective desks. The little room was still bare as a banker's promise but at least it was private. "Open it up, sweetheart," he told her with a smile. "Let's see who the lucky contestant is."

She opened it up and ran her eyes down the page. She found the name – and her jaw dropped.

He sat forward, alarmed. "Judy? What is it?"

"Sweet cheese and crackers," she whispered. "It's Tyrone Stripeson!"

"WHAT?"

She shoved the paper at him. "See for yourself."

He snatched it up and his eyes widened. "Holy mackerel!" He shook his head in disbelief. "What are the odds?"

She sniffed at him. "Beyond counting. I told you couples like us are drawn together."

He held up a placating paw. "Fluff, I am now officially a believer. Two predator-prey couples in one day is too much of a coincidence even for a cynic like me." His chair creaked as he leaned back in it. "Now what?"

"We have to tell Bogo," she answered promptly, "and get him to get us an invitation to see them. It'll be like with Huffer and Fürlong, two birds with one stone; work the case _and_ meet another predator-prey couple like us."

"Obviously," he agreed, "but you realize this is _Gazelle_ we're talking about. You can't walk up and request an appointment to see the most famous singer in the world you know."

"Bogo said he and Tyrone were partners _and_ he did their marriage," Judy countered. "If anyone can get us in, it's him."

Nick shrugged. "Lead the way, Fluff," he said, gesturing at the door.

She bounced up, grabbed the sheet and headed out with him fast on her heels. When she knocked on Bogo's door, his gruff voice answered, "Who's there?"

"Detectives Hopps and Wilde, sir. We've got something to show you about the racers," she answered.

"About time!" he roared. "Get in here!"

They went in and Judy started talking before Nick even got the door closed behind them. In her rapid fire delivery she filled him in on their lack of progress with the large tracts of land and Robert's suggestion of several smaller ones owned by the same person. "We looked it up at City Hall and the owner is your old partner, Tyrone Stripeson," she finished, handing him the sheet the clerk had given them.

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "You know, I remember when they bought that land. Taxes were eating them alive and they needed some kind of tax shelter to keep from going broke, but I never knew how big the parcels were or where they were located." He fished a little black book out of a desk drawer and began thumbing through it. "Things have changed since then so they may not need them any more." He found what he was looking for and began dialing the number. He put it on speaker phone

After three rings there was a click and a smooth voice answered with a hint of suspicion. "Hello?"

"Ty, it's me, Bogo."

The suspicion vanished instantly. "Bogo! How are you, you old sourpuss?"

Nick and Judy fought to keep from laughing at Tyrone's nickname for the Chief. He glared at them, then turned back to the phone. "I'm good, partner, I'm good. Hey, remember those two officers I told you about? The ones that are like the two of you?"

"Are you kidding? We haven't talked about anything else. We've been trying to figure out how to get together without the tabloids getting wind of it. She really wants to meet them."

Nick and Judy shared a wondering look.

"Well, hold on to your seat partner. They're right here in my office and they're working a case that involves that land you bought outside of town back when."

"What? Wait . . . they're in your office, right now?"

"Yep," Bogo chuckled. "And I've got you on speaker phone so they're listening to every word."

The most famous voice in the world suddenly came on. "Officer Wilde? Office Hopps? Are you really there? Can you hear us?"

Judy was hit with a sudden attack of stage fright worse than her first press conference on the _savage mammal_ case. Nick quickly took over. "Yes, Ma'am," he answered smoothly, without betraying any of the awe he was feeling at that moment. "We're here, but Judy is a little, uh, intimidated, at the moment. Sorry."

"Don't be sorry," she replied quickly. "I've been in your place myself when I was first starting out. But don't let it stop you either." She shifted gears. "Judy? If you're like us then we have more in common than in differences."

Judy couldn't believe Gazelle was actually talking directly to her. She cleared her throat nervously. "Th . . . thank you, Ma'am."

She laughed, "Ma'am sounds like you're talking to my mother. I'm not that old, not yet at least. Call me Gazelle."

Judy had to laugh at that. "Okay," she answered, a trifle less nervously. "I'll try."

"We have been wanting to meet you," Gazelle went on, "but we didn't know how to set it up. The tabloids have really been hounding us lately and it's getting harder and harder to avoid them."

"Well, if you weren't so famous you could get away with it like Robert and Linda do," Nick interjected.

"Who?" she asked.

"Robert and Linda, a predator-prey couple who run a diner outside of town near that land of yours," he told her.

"There's _more_ of us?" she exclaimed in disbelief.

"You're kidding!" Tyrone exclaimed in the background.

"Plus there's a couple who teach at the university," Judy added, suddenly feeling more at ease at Gazelle's "us" comment. Despite her fame and fortune, when you got right down to it she was still a mammal just like everyone else, and like everyone else she wanted a life with someone she loved.

Judy's statement was like a bombshell going off; Gazelle and Tyrone were so excited they both started talking at once, stepping on each others words. It was impossible to understand them. Finally they slowed down enough for them to hear Gazelle pleading with Tyrone to let them meet the others. "We've been alone so long," she whimpered brokenheartedly. "Please, baby, please."

"I've just been trying to protect you," he said sorrowfully.

"I know you have, I know you have," she agreed quickly, "and you're the best one in the world at it, but I need someone to talk to now and then, someone like us."

Judy felt embarrassed like she was eavesdropping on someone's private conversation. Then out of nowhere she had a sudden brain storm. "How about tomorrow?" she interrupted them. "And you can make the tabloids work for you for a change."

There was silence on the other end of the phone, and both Nick and Bogo turned to look at her questioningly. Judy took advantage of the moment to launch into a quick recitation of the problems with the street racers and their conversation with Huffer and Fürlong on the long term implications. "The news is starting to report on the street racers anyway, so why not use that to our advantage? We can hold a press conference here at the station this afternoon telling everyone we're coming up with a solution but it involves some land owned by Gazelle and we need to talk to her about using it. We can even say we're bringing in some experts from the university as well as some folks who live out by the site to make sure we're not stepping on anyone's toes. Then tomorrow we all head for your place for a, I don't know, a 'conference' let's call it, to discuss the plan," she finished triumphantly. "It'll be a legitimate excuse to get together and no one will be the wiser."

Tyrone's response surprised everyone; he burst out laughing. "Sounds like you got a heavy hitter on your paws, Bogo. Better watch it, she might be after your job!" he guffawed.

"Ha ha," Bogo half-snarled. "Your sense of humor hasn't improved any, I see." Tyrone only laughed harder. "Still, it actually sounds like a decent plan," the Chief sighed.

Nick gave Judy a surreptitious thumbs up. 'Sly bunny,' he mouthed silently. She grinned.

Tyrone finally ran down. "I think so too," he chucked. "Let's do it."

They heard Gazelle gasp with delight. "Really? You mean it, baby?"

"I mean it, doll britches," he assured her fondly.

"Okay, okay, enough with all the lovey dovey stuff," Bogo grumbled. He glanced at the clock. "If we're going to make this work we need to get the press conference set up for about an hour from now. If I can use your name when I tell them about it, it'll guarantee they'll all come."

They could almost hear Gazelle nodding as she answered. "Of course, Chief Bogo. That's the whole point of Judy's plan." She couldn't keep the evident excitement out of her voice. "I can't believe I'm finally going to meet some others like us!"

Nick felt an unaccustomed surge of sympathy for the world's most famous pop star. Fame and fortune couldn't make up for loneliness. He promised himself then and there, Judy would never have reason to be lonely. He'd make sure of it. After a few "good-byes" and "see you tomorrow's" they hung up the phone. Before Bogo could say anything he did. "I can call Robert and Linda while you're setting up the presser, Chief. And maybe Judy can get a hold of the professors."

Bogo nodded, all business once again. "Tomorrow is Saturday so we'll tell them the meeting starts at 11:00. Have the others meet us in front of the Horn Spire building about 15 minutes prior. Get cracking you two. The faster we get this done, the faster we can get those racers off my streets."

The Horn Spire building where Gazelle and Tyrone lived was a tall horn-shaped building that twisted slightly as it rose. Although not the tallest building in Zootopia, it was arguably the most recognizable.

"I think we should visit them in person instead of calling by phone," Judy said flatly as they left Bogo's office. "Something like this needs to be done face-to-face."

"Agreed," Nick nodded. "You want the car or the truck?" The truck her parents had given her was still sitting in a parking spot under their apartment building.

"The truck," Judy said. "You've never driven it before but I have. I know all it's little quirks."

"Come on then," he said. "I'll drop you off at the apartment then go see Robert and Linda. After that, how about dinner at the Crab Shanty to celebrate?" The Crab Shanty was _the_ romantic restaurant in town, situated in the Canal District.

Judy loved the idea, but hesitated for fear of public exposure. "Will it be safe?"

He glance around the parking garage under the police station. It was empty for the moment. Pulling her close he whispered in her ear, "I'll never let anything happen to you, Judy. Never."

She melted. "Alright. The Crab Shanty it is. I've always wanted to go there."

 **For more of my writing, visit my web site**

 **Scribe of Texas (all one word, no spaces) period, then the letters c-o-m**


	6. Chapter 6

Zootopia

Racing on the Wilde Side

Chapter 6

Dinner at the Crab Shanty had been a dream come true.

After getting Huffer and Fürlong to agree to appear as "expert witnesses" for the "conference" then making a brief appearance at Bogo's press conference in the main lobby of the police station, Nick and Judy had hurried home to change and get ready for dinner. Nick, once again wearing his tuxedo and James Bone persona had arranged for a private booth for them. An overly generous tip beforehand also guaranteed their waitress would look the other way at anything she happened to see while waiting on them.

After a delicious dinner and several glasses of wine, soft music, and candlelight, Judy was ready to drift away on cloud nine she was so happy. But then Nick did the completely unexpected. Pulling out a small ring box he knelt on one knee and asked her to marry him. For a moment she was stunned into utter silence. Then she burst into tears saying yes, yes, yes, a hundred times over as he slipped the ring on her. She held on to him, her whole body shaking like a leaf from the intensity of her emotions. They kissed and cried, then kissed and cried some more. If the waitress noticed anything, Judy was too happy to care.

That morning she found herself humming and singing in the shower, stopped herself and grinned at her reflection in the glass door when she noticed, then promptly forgot and went right back to singing and humming again. She knew she still had to confront her parents about it, but knowing Nick's mother would be alright with it gave her the confidence they would come around too.

She dried off then pulled out the black pantsuit Nick urged her to wear. It wasn't a police uniform but despite a ruffled blouse under the jacket it had an official look and feel to it. She flipped open her detectives badge and slid the back cover into her left breast pocket so the shiny badge was displayed for all the world to see. She skipped down the hall to the elevator and rode up to his floor. He heard her coming of course, and opened his door just as she got there.

She whistled in appreciation. He was wearing a black suit, white shirt, and red rep tie. His badge, like hers, was hanging from the left breast pocket of his jacket. "Pretty slick, Nick," she said approvingly.

"You're looking pretty good too, angel face," he returned, kissing her as she came in. "Beautiful in fact."

After breakfast she took off her engagement ring, slipping it into her pocket. They'd decided she shouldn't wear it in public just yet, but she wasn't about to leave it behind either. "This ring goes everywhere with me," she told him fiercely.

"That's my girl," he smiled.

In the elevator he handed her a copy of the morning newspaper. Yesterday's press conference to announce today's meeting with Gazelle was page one news above the fold. GAZELLE HOLDS KEY TO STREET RACERS, the headline screamed. There was a huge picture of Bogo at the podium, then two smaller pictures, one of her at the podium and one of Nick. The sub-heading said, "Race track for cars needs huge piece of land owned by pop star Gazelle." The article took up half of page one, all of page two, all of page three, and most of page four. The sheer size of the race track seemed to hold almost as much interest for them as the problem it was intended to solve.

"Wow," she exclaimed, flipping through it as she absently followed him to the car. "They really went all out didn't they?"

"That's nothing," he laughed as they got in. "The news is running it 24/7 on every channel; the talking heads are going non-stop, and social media posts are off the charts – and climbing." He gave her an off-hand salute as he pulled out of the garage. "All because of you, sweetheart."

"Me?"

"This was your idea, Fluff. You get all the credit," he smirked.

"Uh, not all of it," she objected impishly. "Listen to this: Officer, now Detective, Judy Hopps and her partner, Detective Nick Wilde, who were so instrumental in solving the _savage mammal_ case several months ago, both admitted the original concept for the gargantuan race track was Wilde's idea. 'I like to think big,' ZPD's newest detective told us." She peered at him over the top of the paper. "I think some of the credit goes to you, Mister Wilde."

"That's 'Detective Wilde' to you, sweetheart," he said in his best Humphrey Boggy imitation.

He parked the car and they headed up to the main floor. They didn't recognize most of the weekend shift, and it was a bit unsettling for Judy to see someone else at what she thought of as Clawhauser's desk. Then Clawhauser came bustling down the stairs, confusing her even more. "There you are," he exclaimed. "Bogo told me to bring you up as soon as you got here."

"What are you doing here on the weekend?" she asked him as he practically ran back up the stairs.

"Overtime," he puffed. "Bogo doesn't want to pull anyone off the streets, but we need security for the meeting so he called a lot of us in. It's actually double time because it's such short notice, so there's going to be a lot of happy officers around here come next payday."

They grinned at each other behind his back.

He led them to the second floor conference room instead of Bogo's office. Bogo was there, working the phones. Professors Huffer and Fürlong were already there, along with Officers Snarlof, Fangmeyer, and Rhinowitz. Mayor Lionheart was sitting at the head of the table along with Meredith, his sheep secretary and a couple of nameless functionaries from City Hall. He waved at them as they came in but continued dictating a letter or something to his secretary.

Judy looked around. "Where are Robert Padfoot and Linda Stepps? I thought they were coming too."

Clawhauser nodded, trying to catch his breath. "Captain Tongas sent a car out to get them," he wheezed. "They're on their way."

Lionheart finished whatever he was doing with his secretary. She gathered her things and rushed out, followed by the two bureaucrats. The Mayor waved them over. "You two don't do things in a small way do you?" he began in his movie star voice. "Not that I object, mind you; actually I wish I had more like you on my campaign staff." He waved it off. "But never mind that. Do you think you can get Gazelle to agree to this? Condemning her property just to get it for a race track is out of the question. My predecessor did that kind of thing and I ran against him by promising not to."

"Mayor Bogo and the railroad through old McDonald's farm," Nick interjected smartly.

Lionheart blinked. Ever the consummate politician though, he recovered quickly. "Exactly! And I like to keep my campaign promises."

The door opened just then and Robert and Linda were escorted in by one of the detectives. Nick said, "Excuse me Mister Mayor," and hurried over to greet them, leaving Judy and Lionheart alone.

"Mayor Lionheart?"

"Yes, Detective Hopps?"

Judy bit her lip. "I just want you to know, Nick and I don't care about politics. We really don't. And whatever is between you and Chief Bogo is none of our business. We like both of you. All we really want is to protect Zootopia and keep everyone safe."

He stared at her thoughtfully for a moment. "I admire your honesty and passion, Hopps. But the way you and Wilde are going, you'd better start caring about politics, because it's going to start caring about you. Not everyone on the City Council likes this idea – and they know your names," he added warningly. " _And_ . . . they're not all as forgiving as I am. A word to the wise, eh?" He walked away to talk to Bogo before she could think of an answer.

Nick was waving at her and she hurried over. Lawrence and Shelly had joined him, carefully, to greet Robert and Linda, aware of the crowded room. The six of them formed a little rump group away from the growing crowd of big wigs around the conference table.

Bogo finally rapped on the table and called for order then nodded at Lionheart.

"We all know why we're here," the Mayor began. "These street racers are becoming a serious problem, and from what Dr's Huffer and Fürlong tell me it's going to get worse _and_ other mammals may start exhibiting similar behavior in other fields." Lawrence and Shelly nodded timidly at the assembled crowd of dignitaries. "But the only way to solve it is _one problem at a time_ ," he emphasized, glaring sternly at some of the council members at the table. "Therefore officers Hopps and Wilde have come up with a possible solution for the street racers; this race track idea that's in the news. For that we need Gazelle's cooperation, so they're taking Huffer and Fürlong with them to a meeting with her, as well as some local citizens who live in that area," he added, indicating a nervous Robert and Linda, "to try persuading her to let the city use her land."

An elderly pig with heavy, horn rimmed glasses perched on his nose, wearing a rumpled tweed suit, peered over the top of them. "And if they can't?" he asked in a quarrelsome voice.

Lionheart sighed in exasperation "One thing at a time, Elmer, one thing at a time."

"That's Councilor Fudge, to you youngster," Elmer snapped.

"We're not in chambers!" Lionheart roared angrily.

"Oh dear me, how right you are," Elmer pretended. "My mistake," he said with false humility and an even falser smile.

Lionheart gritted his teeth. He looked at the clock over the door. "It's time to head over to the Horn Spire building so our emissaries," he indicated the six of them with a sweep of his paw, "can get to work and hopefully come to an arrangement with Gazelle."

Everyone trooped out of the room heading for the garage. Nick gave Robert a police jacket. "Wear this until we get inside the building," he said quietly. "Anyone who sees you will think you're just another cop." He nodded and slipped it on.

They got into a police van along with several officers, while more officers piled into two other vans, one in front and the other behind them. Fangmeyer was one of the cops in their van. "Bogo is going to be paying a lot of double time on this one," Nick told him with a grin.

"And I ain't complaining one bit," Fangmeyer laughed. "I got bills to pay." The other cops in the van added their agreement

The drive to the Horn Spire building took less than five minutes. When the back door of the van opened the sound of the crowd told them it was huge. When Judy climbed out she saw more mammals than she would have imagined. It looked like a larger crowd than Gazelle's last concert. Pressed up against the barricades she saw Flash and some of the street racers, grinning like baboons, giving them a frantic thumbs up.

Flashbulbs went off everywhere as they emerged from the van. Judy was thankful she'd listened to Nick and worn sunglasses like his as the flashbulbs went off like chain lightening. Lawrence and Shelly blinked and had to shield their eyes to keep from being blinded. Robert, playing the part of a cop with his own cop glasses, helped Linda out of the van as she shielded her own eyes. Cops from all three vans swarmed around them, providing a protective barrier three rows deep as they moved toward the main entrance.

They made it safely inside, down a corridor then through a door to the private elevator that would take them to Gazelle and Tyrone's home on the upper floors. Bogo crowded into the elevator with the three couples. "Give me those," he told Robert as the car started up. Robert dutifully took off his police jacket and sunglasses.

As the elevator neared the top Bogo looked around the group, sensing their nervousness. "I've known both of them for over twenty years," he said gruffly, but not unkindly. "They're just mammals like everyone else. Treat 'em that way and you'll be fine."

The elevator stopped and the doors opened. They found themselves facing a short hallway that ended at a plain set of double doors. Bogo marched up and banged on the door with a fist. "Open up in the name of the law you double crossing sidewinder!" he roared.

Before they could react the door popped open and Tyrone grabbed Bogo in a huge bear hug. "You remembered!" he crowed, pounding him on the back.

Bogo was hugging and pounding him too. "How could I forget," he laughed. "You scared that poor little sheep out of a year's growth!"

"Nearly got suspended for it too," Tyrone chuckled fondly.

Nick and Judy exchanged amused glances. "Therein lies a tale worth hearing," Nick mused lightly. She giggled.

It broke up Bogo and Tyrone's reunion. Bogo turned around to them. "Everyone, may I present my former partner Tyrone Stripeson and his wife Gazelle." Her lithe figure had been hidden behind the two bigger mammals but once she came into view she suddenly seemed larger than life.

Bogo did the introductions. "Detectives Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde." They shook with each of them in turn. "Zootopia University Professors Dr. Lawrence Huffer and Dr. Shelly Fürlong." They also shook. "Hoof & Claw Diner owners, who are also your country neighbors, Robert Padfoot and Linda Stepps." They shook their paws nervously. Bogo took a step back. "Call me when you're done."

Tyrone stopped him. "Whoa! You're not leaving are you?"

Bogo smiled a little sadly. "You know this isn't for me, Ty. It's for all of you."

Tyrone paused then nodded. "Yeah." He looked hard at him. "But don't be such a stranger from now on, partner. I mean it."

"You got it partner." Bogo turned and marched away.

Tyrone closed the door and for a moment they all stood silently, looking at each other awkwardly, wondering what to do, then Nick came to the rescue. "Well, as much as I've always wanted to stand around doing and saying nothing, I think we've 'been there, done that' by now. Any chance we can find a seat?"

It broke the tension of the moment and they all laughed. Judy grabbed his arm and impulsively kissed him on the cheek. "Now you can see why I said yes, when he asked me to marry him," she said with forced gaiety. They broke into a stunned babble of congratulations and hugs and more shaking. Judy pulled out her engagement ring and put it back on, explaining she couldn't wear it in public.

The group pleasure in their announcement dimmed. Gazelle's eyes filled with tears. "Tyrone and I have been married nearly ten years and we can't tell anyone," she sobbed quietly. All at once she was no longer a pop star in their eyes, but a female in pain. They gathered around as Tyrone hugged her, patting her back and murmuring it would be alright.

Eventually she recovered enough to lead them into a large living room. Couches and sofas were scattered about in a loose circle. They paired up and sat down, watching each other curiously.

"I've always wondered what we looked like together," Linda said, looking around the circle, "but I never had the chance to see until now."

"And?" Shelly prompted.

"We look pretty darned good!" she said firmly. Smiles answered her from around the room.

"Well, we're the ones who made a study of us," Lawrence replied, pulling Shelly into his lap. "Would anyone like to know what we found?"

"Yes!" Gazelle practically shouted. "We didn't know there were _any_ others until Bogo called us earlier this week. We thought we were the only freaks."

"We're not freaks," Shelly told her sharply, a bit of the school teacher coming to the fore. "We're rare, but not freaks."

Gazelle and Tyrone nodded. "Explain away," he said for both of them.

Lawrence proceeded to repeat most of what Nick and Judy already knew from reading their published paper. Then he added to it. "Mayor Lionheart's family is descended from Mars, one of the founding fathers of Zootopia. Mars kept a diary detailing his love affair with a zebra named Venus. According to his diary they were attracted to one another when they met at the watering hole during the signing of the _New Beginning_ treaty, which of course is how we date everything. A few months later they were nearly killed by a forest fire that was started by lightning. Their love affair started soon afterwards, a love affair he wrote about in _very_ detailed terms."

"The Mayor told us he didn't want the diary becoming public," Nick interjected. "He said it's pretty embarrassing."

Shelly gave a nervous laugh. "Embarrassing isn't the word for it. It's as graphic as anything I've ever read. I'm not sure discretion was part of Mars' vocabulary." She saw Gazelle and Tyrone's puzzled looks. "Lionheart's grandfather donated a copy to the University, on the condition that it would never be released to the public," she hurried to explain.

They nodded in understanding.

"The only other historical predator-prey relationship we know of for sure was the pirate, Redmane the wolf and his sheep lover, Elvira Blackstone, around 1000 NB," Lawrence continued. "They were simple villagers who'd been friends all their young lives until they fell into a pit full of poisonous snakes and had to work together to get out alive. They made it but when their family and friends found out about their love they tried to lynch them."

Linda gasped in horror, shrinking back into Roberts arms. "Their own family tried to kill them because they loved each other?"

"I'm afraid so," Lawrence nodded. "They managed to escape though and swore revenge on the villagers and all others like them. They went on to become the most notorious pirates in history, raiding up and down the ocean lanes for five years before they were finally caught and executed. Their captured shipmates confirmed their relationship and how it started. The University has the original manuscripts in a helium-filled glass case in the vaults."

"Why helium?" Tyrone asked curiously.

"The manuscripts are so old they're almost falling apart," Shelly explained. "Since helium is an inert gas it doesn't react with anything and protects them from further decay."

"Shelly and I have pretty much the same story as them," Lawrence continued, "but without all the drama. We grew up in the Article Circle, in a village called Icing Dale. We were always friends, and as we got older we began to be attracted to each other until the day we were almost killed in an avalanche. We became lovers but very quickly realized we wouldn't be able to keep it a secret in such a small village. We moved to Zootopia and majored in anthropology as a means of researching what happened to us. Our final, joint paper on the subject of predator-prey relationships cemented our tenure as professors but for the most part has been ignored by the rest of the world."

After that, one-by-one, each couple explained their own history to the others. When they were finished, Lawrence added, "Now you can see the same pattern we did; an initial attraction followed by a period of growing trust and closeness, then a violent life-and-death experience that tears down the final barriers between us and lets us fall in love."

"Why does it have to be so extreme?" Robert wondered.

Lawrence shrugged his shoulders. "Well, predator-prey relationships _are_ extreme. It'd take an extreme experience to break through our biological and cultural taboos against them, especially after the example of Hannibally."

"The example of who?" Judy asked in confusion.

Shelly shook her head sadly. "What are they teaching in school these days?" Lawrence touched her shoulder gently. She sighed. "Okay, okay. Hannibally was an elephant, a general beyond compare, who marched his troops across the Alps in the dead of winter around 700 NB to conquer the city-states on the western side." She looked around; seeing she had their attention, she went on:

"After Mars and Venus died there weren't any more confirmed stories of predator-prey relationships, but there were unconfirmed rumors by the score, enough that most historians think it's more common than most mammals believe. Hannibally was a great general because he was a purist. He focused on one thing and one thing only, victory in battle. Anything that interfered with that goal had to be destroyed. So, when he discovered two of his troops were in a predator-prey relationship he was so shocked, angry, and outraged he had both of them drawn and quartered. This drastic punishment must have been told and retold over the centuries because throughout the world there are stories, legends and fables about predator-prey couples being drawn and quartered _after the example of Hannibally_."

Tyrone was frowning. "How come we've never heard this before? 

Lawrence smiled paternalistically. "We're in the 'modern age' my young friend," he said, making quote marks in the air. "Most of these stories have faded into the dustbin of history. They're not taught any more. No one but historians and a few lonely researchers even know about them these days."

Robert raised his paw like he was in class.

Shelly smiled. "Yes?"

"You said historians think predator-prey relationships are more common than most mammals believe. How common?" he asked. Everyone perked up at his question.

"Ah! A real student," Shelly sighed with delight. "By the time Redmane and Elvira were executed – for piracy by the way, not for their relationship – there seems to have been approximately six to ten couples every fifty years or so. Today . . ." she paused, ". . . I'd have to say it's probably about one couple for every 400,000 mammals. We're not sure, but it seems to be a good estimate."

"That's impossible!" Gazelle exclaimed. "Tyrone and I have been together for nearly twenty years, married for almost ten, and we've never seen another couple until today!"

"And you were so out in the open about your relationship," Linda quipped, the first thing she'd said in quite a while. Gazelle had the grace to be embarrassed, but Linda wasn't done. "I don't know about that example of Hannibally stuff, but I do know the moment mammals at work found out about Robert and I, we were fired on the spot. We've been keeping a low profile ever since. Who wouldn't?" she asked reasonably.

Shelly nodded her sympathy to Linda. "We kept out of sight for pretty much the same reason. In fact, if it weren't for Nick and Judy, we'd still be hiding in our ivory tower."

Gazelle giggled unexpectedly. Everyone looked at her. "That's what Tyrone calls this place," she explained. They all laughed.

"Linda and I wouldn't have come here if it weren't for Nick and Judy," Robert added quietly. She snuggled tighter against his chest.

"I certainly wouldn't have let anyone come up if Bogo hadn't told me about them," Tyrone added. He looked them over. "So, it looks like the two of you are responsible for all of us being here."

"So what makes you two so different?" Gazelle quizzed them.

Nick and Judy exchanged a quick look. She indicated for him to answer it. "I don't know that we're necessarily any different per sé, but . . . we're cops. We follow the evidence and solve riddles, puzzles, cases, whatever you want to call it. It's what we do." He looked to Tyrone, the only other cop in the room, for back up.

Tyrone frowned, thinking about it. Gazelle shifted in his arms, turning her head to look up at him. "Babe?"

"Yeah," he said slowly, "but I never brought us all together like this."

"Nick and I are _both_ cops," Judy pointed out. "Gazelle isn't, and you retired to be with her."

"It was the right decision," he defended himself. "But yeah, I see your point."

"Judy and I also had the advantage of working a strange case right out of the starting gate," Nick continued. "It forced us not only to work together, but to really put on our thinking caps, find answers outside of the box."

"Then we got this street racing case just as we were falling in love," Judy put in, seeing where he was going with this. "Then almost immediately after _that_ we found the paper about predator-prey relationships and boom!, done deal."

"We were the right mammals in the right place at the right time," Nick concluded.

"It was like dominoes falling one after another, because they're all connected," Judy argued, warming to her theme. "The meteor or asteroid strike theory explains so much; it explains how mammals could go from bored businessmen to maniac street racers who can't stop themselves, it explains how predator-prey relationships are even _possible_ , it explains why the diets of predators and prey have overlapped to the point they're virtually indistinguishable, it even explains why the night howlers were able to affect mammals in a way no other drug ever has!"

"Whoa! Wait a minute there," Tyrone sat up abruptly, dislodging Gazelle from her comfortable position. She squawked in protest. "Sorry, babe," he told her apologetically. "What do you mean in a way no other drug has? Bogo and I worked Vice for three years. Drugs can make mammals do all kinds of crazy things, just like those night howlers."

"But the effects always wear off," Judy reminded him. "The night howlers were permanent until they came up with an antidote."

There was a babble of confusion from around the room but Tyrone shouted them all down. "Hold it, hold it!" They subsided finally. He turned a grim eye on Judy. "I don't remember anything in the news about the night howlers being permanent."

"Why did you think they needed an antidote?" Nick asked sarcastically.

"To help them get over the shakes or withdrawals or whatever," Tyrone growled.

"Nope," Judy shook her head. "If you don't believe us, call Bogo and ask him. We'll wait."

He glared at them suspiciously then pulled out his phone and dialed quickly. A few minutes later he hung up in shocked disbelief. "He says it's true," he told the others, who'd only heard his side of the conversation. "The night howlers are permanent without the antidote, but they didn't want to scare the public by coming right out and saying it."

Shelly held up a timid paw. "Can I say something?"

He gestured helplessly. "Sure, why not?"

"The University was called in to interview the victims after they recovered. Lawrence and I were part of the team they sent," she told them. "We discovered none of the victims could remember anything after being hit with the night howlers. They remembered the initial impact of being shot, then a rising sense of anger and rage, then after that – nothing, until they woke up in the hospital."

"Nothing?" Robert shook his head. "Why not?"

"We don't know," Lawrence added. "The University's medical team is still working on it, but so far they don't even know how the night howlers work, let alone where all the side effects come from."

"That's not a very comforting thought," Nick mused.

"No it isn't," Lawrence agreed readily. "But it's what we're stuck with."

"Which brings me back to the point I was trying to make before we got sidetracked," Judy put in.

Tyrone shook his head. "Sorry, I don't even remember what you were saying."

"About everything being connected to the meteor or asteroid strike theory," she reminded him.

"Oh! Yeah, that," he nodded. "Didn't mean to change the subject. Sorry. Go ahead," he told her contritely.

She nodded her forgiveness. "That's alright." She returned to her theme, "Since everything is connected it means the street racer problem isn't going to go away, and if Lawrence and Shelly's theory about modern technology giving us time to be bored is right, it means there's going to be more problems cropping up in the future."

She paused to take a breath, then addressed Tyrone and Gazelle directly. "You know, Nick and I set all this up mainly so we could ask you about using your property south of town for a race track." She paused again. "But I didn't expect to enjoy meeting all of you so much." She smiled brightly at them.

Everyone smiled their agreement.

"But we really do need to set up a race track," Nick said, taking up the burden. "We need to solve this problem before the next one rears its ugly head."

"Of course you can use it," Gazelle said, glancing at Tyrone for confirmation. He nodded. "We haven't really needed it for several years now. Treat it like it's yours," she invited them.

"Thanks," they said together. "But you know," Nick continued, "depending on how it's done, we might make some money off it."

Judy shook her head. "Nick."

"I'm not being greedy," he protested, "but there's nothing wrong with making money while you help mammals."

She eyed him suspiciously. "As long as the helping part comes first," she conceded. "But no funny business!"

He kissed the tip of her nose. "Come on, you know you love me."

She recognized their favorite repartee. "Do I know that? Yes, yes I do." She reached up to kiss him then suddenly remembered they weren't alone. She looked around to find everyone watching them with undisguised interest. She blushed furiously.

"Don't stop on our account," Linda breathed. "It's beautiful to see."

"You don't have to hide it from us," Shelly reminded her.

"No, but some things are private no matter what," Judy answered, blushing even harder.

Tyrone whispered something in Gazelle's ear, too low even for Judy to hear. Gazelle turned beat red. "Tyrone!" she protested, poking him in the ribs. He laughed low in his throat. Trying to change the subject she jumped up. "I never offered you anything to drink," she exclaimed. "Forgive me. What would you like? Name it and we've got it."

They all rattled off their preferences and Linda got up to help her. "I"m a waitress," she reminded her when Gazelle tried to protest. "It's what I do at our diner."

Gazelle smiled. "I was a waitress when I met Tyrone." They hurried off to the kitchen.

While they sat waiting for them to return, Robert had a question for Nick and Judy. "This _thrill of the hunt_ thing; does it only affect predators or do prey get it too?"

They both chuckled. "Oh we definitely get it too," Judy smiled. "Chasing down bad guys is a rush like you wouldn't believe."

Tyrone smile fondly in remembrance. "Amen to that. I still miss it, and the other day Bogo admitted he misses it too."

Judy nodded at him. "The _thrill of the hunt_ is just what Lance called it. We didn't know what else to call it so we stuck with the name, but it's not really a hunt so much as a huge adrenaline rush mixed with endorphins mixed with who knows what. It's like having a supercharger plugged into you."

"That is an understatement," Nick added feelingly.

"I wonder if that's what happened to us when we had our brush with death?" Robert reflected thoughtfully. "Maybe we got that . . . _thrill-charge_ long enough to cut through our defenses and let us fall in love with each other."

Lawrence blinked ponderously at him. "Youngster, that is about the most succinct summation I've heard in a long time. You should have been a philosopher."

"I nearly was," Robert told him.

"Nearly was what?" Gazelle asked as she and Linda returned with trays loaded with drinks and snacks. They began handing them out.

"I was nearly a philosopher," he responded. "I was working on my graduate thesis when we got fired from Garlic & Cloves and I had to drop out to make ends meet."

"You should go back and finish it, finish your degree," Lawrence urged him.

Linda poked Robert in the ribs as she snuggled up to him again. "See?" she said triumphantly.

"Keep poking me in the ribs lady and I'll tickle yours until you pee your pants," he mock growled at her, winking at the others.

She gasped. "Robert! I can't believe you told them that!" She buried her face in her hooves.

Judy's eyes were wide and round. Watching other predator-prey couples indulge in their love play and intimate looks was an earth shaking experience for her. Is that what they see when they watch us, she wondered? She glanced up at Nick to find his gaze on her. She could tell he was wondering the same thing. Then – his eyes darkened, his heart sped up and his breathing deepened, and she knew he was about to do something rash; something wonderful, incredible, exhilarating, and liberating – but rash.

"Let's have Bogo marry us on the race track right before the first race," he suggested.

Her jaw dropped. "What?!"

"I'm serious," he said. "I don't want to sneak around for twenty years pretending I'm not in love with you. No offense to you guys," he added to Tyrone and Gazelle. They nodded. "That's just not my style Fluff, and you know it," he added before she could protest. She deflated and he knew he'd won the argument before it started. "If everything is connected like we've been discussing then trying to hide it isn't going to work; it'll come out eventually anyway. So let's have it come out our way."

He sat up, then couldn't contain himself and sprang to his feet to pace back and forth before them. "If Bogo, _Chief_ Bogo marries us in front of all those racers and whoever else decides to come, just as they're getting ready to initiate a safe outlet for getting their own thrills, maybe it'll be the push they need to start accepting predator-prey couples instead of having us drawn and quartered."

"You're talking about taking a big chance there, youngster," Lawrence argued slowly. "What if they turn against you?"

"They may not like it," Nick conceded, "but no way will they turn against us; we're heroes," he smiled cockily. "We solved the _savage mammals_ case and now we're solving their problem for them too."

"He's actually making sense," Linda said unexpectedly.

Robert glanced at her in surprise. "Babe?"

"I'm tired of hiding," she sniffled, trying to stop tears from forming. "I'm tired of being afraid someone will find out. I hate having to pretend that loving you is something to be ashamed of. I don't blame him for wanting to get it out in the open. I wish we could." She buried her head in his chest.

Judy was taken back by Linda's emotional declaration, by the obvious pain she was in. She felt an answering quiver in her own heart. Looking around she saw tears rolling down Gazelle's face and Shelly seemed to be having a hard time restraining hers as well. Her gazed settled on Nick. He was abashed at the floodgates he'd opened up but he stared back at her unflinchingly. Something turned over inside her and she stood up, moving to stand resolutely by his side. "If that's what you want, that's what we'll do," she told him, letting the others hear the steel in her voice.

He kissed her – slowly and deliberately, he kissed her. "That's what I want, angel face," he whispered against her lips. "Now and forever."

She nodded, wondering why her vision had suddenly become blurred. He dabbed at her cheeks with a handkerchief and she realized she was crying. "Oh you bunnies, you're so emotional," he muttered smoothly.

She sniffled softly, remembering the last time he'd told her that, under the bridge when she went looking for him to apologize and beg his forgiveness. "If you pull out that stupid carrot pen I'll stab you with it," she threatened. He laughed low in his throat.

Eventually the ladies stopped crying and dried their tears. Once everyone had settled down they ate lunch, engaging in small talk, visiting and getting to know each other. Toward the end Gazelle offered to sing for them.

"As long as it's not _Try Everything_ ," Linda cautioned. "I'll start crying again."

Gazelle nodded her understanding. "Now that you mention it, I might start crying again too." She choose a medley of some of her most popular hits, singing a cappella without any musical accompaniment.

Finally they had to go. Judy made a quick phone call to let Bogo know the meeting was over. After an endless series of hugs and shakes they left off as the elevator doors opened to admit the Chief onto their floor. Wisely he didn't comment on their tears or try to resurrect the "hail fellow, well met" back slapping routine he and Tyrone had engaged in previously.

Once the elevator doors closed Bogo handed Robert his borrowed police jacket and sunglasses to hide behind again. Linda burst into tears as soon as he put them on. A bewildered Bogo watched helplessly as Judy and Shelly rushed to dry them, then gave her some garish sunglasses unearthed from the depths of Shelly's giant purse.

"I'll look awful," Linda protested feebly.

"Here," Robert said, giving her his. "Try these."

She nodded and put them on just before the doors opened again. Bogo instructed his officers to escort Lawrence, Robert, Shelly, and Linda straight to the van. He'd take Nick and Judy to the press and while they were talking to them the van could make a careful get-away.

Lionheart, hastily called from his office, met them as they emerged from the building. Bogo spoke to him briefly then the Mayor stepped up to the forest of microphones growing out of the podium. "And now, here with their report, are two of Zootopia's finest, Detective Judy Hopps and Detective Nick Wilde. They'll tell us how it went." He stepped aside, beckoning them to take the stand.

The press exploded with a raucous cacophony the moment they stepped up. Nick tried several times to quiet them down but none of them were willing to let the others go first. Judy finally got exasperated with them and let out a shrill, piercing whistle directly into the microphones. The resulting feedback nearly peeled the skin off her nose but it got them to shut up long enough for Nick to jump in.

"It was an excellent meeting," Nick started quickly. "Gazelle, who is a wonderful hostess by the way, was very generous with her property," he smiled. "She loves Zootopia and wants to help in any way she can, so she gave us carte blanche to use the land anyway we want." He pointedly didn't mention Tyrone. A number of street racers thronging close to hear what happened erupted into cheers at the news.

"Is she going to be making a statement?" one of the reporters screamed out over their noise.

Nick smiled benevolently at him. "Does Gazelle make up her own mind about she says? Yes, yes she does," he deflected smoothly, putting his own advice to Judy into action. He took several more questions, doing the same thing with each of them, then turned the podium over to Mayor Lionheart.

The Mayor gave him a private wink as they passed. "Smooth as butter," he whispered admiringly.

Judy also leaned over to whisper, "Pretty slick, Nick."

"Sly fox," he whispered out of the side of his mouth. She restrained the urge to poke him in the side. Lionheart was speaking so she turned her attention to him.

". . . says we'll have clear skies for the next couple of weeks so we'll start work first thing Monday morning. Detectives Wilde and Hopps will be on hand to supervisor and handle any questions from the press, but don't crowd them too much," the Mayor warned. "They've got work to do." He paused with a devilish gleam in his eye. "And since they've been so instrumental in figuring this whole thing out and providing a solution, I hereby declare that this race track will be called _The Wilde-Hopps Race Track!_ "

Nick and Judy were stunned as cheers and applause broke out on all sides. The warm sound and enthusiasm washed over them in one warm wave after another.

 **For more of my writing, visit my web site**

 **Scribe of Texas (all one word, no spaces) period, then the letters c-o-m**


	7. Chapter 7

Zootopia

Racing on the Wilde Side

Chapter 7

Judy stretched luxuriously as she gradually woke up without an alarm clock buzzing in her ear. Yesterday had been an emotionally draining day. Even though they got back to the station and said good-bye to Lawrence and Shelly, and Robert and Linda by one o'clock, she and Nick were so wiped out they headed for their apartment building, kissed briefly in the elevator, then went their separate ways and crashed.

She decided to take her time in the shower, lathering and rinsing, then lathering all over again until she felt squeaky clean. It was a wonderful feeling. She wrapped a big fuzzy robe around herself, tying it tight just as her phone buzzed from Nick.

"Hello handsome," she purred as the screen lit up with his face.

"And hello yourself, angel face." He surveyed her robe. "Did I call a few moments too late?" he grinned lecherously.

"Tsk, tsk," she waggled a finger at him. He laughed, undeterred by her gentle reproof. "What time is it anyway. I haven't looked at the clock yet."

"It's almost nine, but maybe you should look outside first. The press are camped out in front of the lobby," he told her.

Her eyes widened. "What?"

He nodded. "Yep. I figure they're waiting to ambush us the moment we set foot out the door." She started to growl, which he thought was unbelievably cute for a bunny, but he cut her off. "Don't worry, I've got a plan."

She eyed him askance. "We're not going to parachute out the window or anything ridiculous like that are we?"

He perked up. "Hey! Now there's an idea."

"Nick!"

"I'm kidding," he laughed at her horrified expression. "Get dressed and meet me by the emergency stairs at the end of the hall." He paused as another lecherous expression stole across his face. "Unless you want me to come help you get dressed."

"You're terrible, but . . ." her expression changed to meet his, "once we're married, I'm all yours mammal O mine, head to toe."

He grinned in anticipation. "Come on wedding day!"

She giggled at his undisguised eagerness. "I'll meet you in ten minutes." She hung up and made a mad dash for her closet. If he could get them away from the press they'd have the whole day to themselves and she didn't want to miss a single moment of it.

Ten minutes later she pushed open the emergency exit door at the end of the hallway. He was waiting on the stairwell landing. He was dressed as always, but he whistled appreciatively at her outfit. She was wearing black stretch pants with a soft purple blouse that matched her eyes. Black and white bracelets graced her dainty wrists. He shook his head. "Fluff, I don't know how you do it, but you get more gorgeous every day."

She smiled brightly. "Glad you like it. Fru-Fru helped me pick it out." She flowed into his arms for a long passionate kiss. Pheromones and the sound of his heart filled the small landing.

He pulled back reluctantly, trying to clear his head. "Come on, gorgeous, let's get out of here before we jump the gun on our wedding day," he said unsteadily.

She tried not to moan in disappointment because she knew he was right. There was a part of her – a very large part if she was honest with herself – that wanted to drag him into bed right then and there. "Where are we going?" she forced herself to ask.

He took her paw and started down the stairs. "I called Finnick. He's waiting in his van at the bottom of the stairs. I had him move your truck yesterday. Once he gets us out of here, he'll take us to it and we'll be on our own."

Her ears shot straight up in admiration. "Pretty slick, Nick!" She punched him excitedly in the arm.

"Above average," he admitted.

Sure enough, Finnick, Nick's erstwhile partner in popsicle hustling, was waiting for them, the back door of his van open and facing the stairway door. They hopped in, closed the door, and they were on their way. Judy was surprised to find the inside of the van crowded with crates and packages.

"What's all this?" she asked.

Finnick glanced over his shoulder. "All of what? Oh, those." He turned back to his driving as he pulled out of the underground garage. "After Nick went straight I had to get a job. You know, I actually make more delivering packages than I ever did working for that chump!"

"Imagine that," Judy smirked sarcastically.

"Don't gloat," Nick scowled. "It doesn't look good on you."

She smirked even more. "You know you love me."

He rolled his eyes but played along anyway. "Do I know that? Yes, yes I do."

"If you two love birds are done making goo-goo eyes at each other, we're here," Finnick said from up front.

For a moment Judy panicked realizing he'd heard everything, but Nick shushed her. "It's alright," he said. "Finnick and I go way back; he's cool with it, or at least he won't say anything."

Finnick met her eyes in the rear view mirror. "It makes no never mind to me," he shrugged. "It's not my cup of tea, but neither is being a cop."

She smiled in relief. "Thank you, Finnick." He nodded.

Nick gave him a quick pat on the shoulder. "Thanks big guy. See you around." He opened the back door and they jumped out. Her truck was right in front of them. Nick closed van and Finnick took off.

Nick pulled out the truck keys. "Mind if I drive, Milady?" He unlocked the passenger door and held it open like a chauffeur.

Judy played along, lifting her nose in the air like a rich snob and holding out her paw so he could help her into her seat. "Thank you, Jeeves," she sniffed disdainfully. The moment was shattered though when he pinched her bottom. She jumped and nearly hit her head on the roof of the cab of the truck. "Hey!"

He grinned as he trotted around to get in the driver's side. "You were getting into the part a little too much," he explained. She stuck out her tongue. He started the truck and pulled out on the street. His expression changed as he glanced sideways at her. "I want to go see my Mom."

Her face softened. "Nick, I think that's a great idea."

"Even if I tell her about us?"

She hesitated. His decision to get married in full view of the world at the new race track was still off in the future a ways, but this was today, this morning in fact. She didn't want to wind up like Gazelle and Tyrone, hiding in their ivory tower, but was she ready for this? Other mammals had found out about them by accident one way or another; this would be the first time they'd deliberately told someone.

She took a deep breath. "We have to tell her, Nick. She's your mother."

He reached over and squeezed her paw. "Thank you, Judy."

She smiled briefly at him. When he tried to let go she held on tighter. "I want to tell her, Nick, and my parents too but I'm scared. Promise you'll help me?" she pleaded. He nodded. To take her mind off it she changed the subject. "You've never said anything about your father."

His eyebrows climbed. "He died in a car wreck when I was three or four. I barely remember him, sort of this big lovable presence in the house. Then one day he was just – gone."

"I'm sorry, Nick. I didn't know."

"It's alright," he reassured her. "Mom was always there for me."

He was heading south in Savannah Central toward the bridge over the lake. A few blocks from it he turned west onto Livery Avenue, two blocks later he turned left into an older, but tidy neighborhood of single family homes. He turned onto Oak Street then into the driveway of the second house on the right.

A chain link fence decorated with plastic flowers surrounded a cut lawn. Short well-trimmed bushes lined the walkway up to the front porch. The house was white with red trim around the windows and doors, topped by black shingles. The porch was fairly spacious, sporting a double wooden swing hanging from the roof. Some throw pillows gave it a splash of color. A gray, older model sedan was parked in the driveway.

Nick shook his head at the sight of her car. "She's gonna drive that thing until it falls apart." He got out and opened the door for Judy. He led her through the fence gate to the front door. He rapped smartly on it.

A faint voice from inside called out, "Just a minute."

Nick straightened his shirt and tie nervously. He turned to ask Judy how he looked when the door opened and his mother, about an inch short than him and just starting to show some silver around her muzzle, came out.

"Yes?" Then her eyes widened as she realized who it was. "Nicky!" she screamed in delight. She grabbed him in a hug, laughing and crying at the same time. "It's been ages since you've come to see me. How dare you make me wait so long! Let me look at you." She pushed him away to run her eyes over him then immediately pulled him back again. "Come here! Oh my goodness it's so good to see you!"

Judy tried to smother a smile. Typical mom, she thought.

"I saw you on TV Mister Big Shot Detective," she exclaimed. "Meeting with the Mayor, and Gazelle!" She tried to pull him into the house, "Come on, you have to tell me everything!"

Nick planted his feet. "Whoa Mom! There's someone I want you to meet."

She blinked and saw Judy for the first time. "Oh my goodness! You're that famous bunny cop. I heard you're partners with my Nicky. Is it true?"

"Mom! Slow down," Nick laughed. "At least let me introduce you before you give her the third degree."

His mom laughed. "Sorry dear, you know how excited I get."

"Yeah, I know. Mom, this is Judy Hopps. Judy, this is my mom, Faye Wilde," he said formally.

They shook. "Any friend of Nick's is a friend of mine," Faye said, pulling her in for a hug. "Come in, come in!" Judy let herself be led inside. The house was neat and tidy. A ceiling fan whirled silently, creating a slight breeze. "I was just having some lemonade, come on into the kitchen," she told them.

Nick and Judy exchange amused glances and let her hustle them to the kitchen and seat them at the table while she grabbed glasses and poured some lemonade. She sat down then paused briefly as she noticed them sitting side-by-side. "So, Nicky, tell me everything," she insisted.

Nick saw Judy watching him expectantly. She nodded slightly to encourage him. Faye picked on it and went utterly still, sensing something going on between them. Nick took a deep breath. "There's a lot of things to tell you, Mom, but I think I should start at the top and work my way down."

"Okay," she said slowly, her eyes cutting back and forth between them.

Nick took Judy's paw and put it on the table, displaying her ring. "We're engaged to be married," he told her, bracing for her reaction.

Faye's eyes started to fill with tears. "Oh Nicky, I thought I saw Robert and Linda on TV with you yesterday. I couldn't tell for sure, but it _was_ them, wasn't it?" He nodded. "If you found them then you've talked to them and you know what you're letting yourselves in for," she sniffled, reaching for a handkerchief.

"I'm not giving her up, Mom," he said firmly. Judy clutched his paw tightly.

"Baby, I'm not asking you to," Faye reassured him weakly. "Robert and Linda were the same way." She eyed their clasped paws on the table. "I'm just sad it's going to be so hard on you. Look at what they went through!"

"She's worth it," he answered.

"But it may not be as hard on us as you think," Judy put in. "Chief of Police Bogo has already offered to perform our wedding."

Faye stopped in mid-sniffle. "You mean . . . he _knows_?"

They both nodded. "He not only knows, he's okay with it," she told her. "A friend of his went through the same thing years ago and Bogo did their wedding too." She leaned forward earnestly. "I'm not saying it'll be easy but there are others out there like us, we've met them, and times are changing. But even if it wasn't, even it's was worse for us than it was for Robert and Linda, I still wouldn't give Nick up. I can't!" she wailed softly. "He's my everything."

Faye's eyes glowed with both sadness and joy. "It's every mother's dream to hear someone say that about one of her children," she smiled faintly.

"Then maybe you can help my mother when she hears Nick say it about me," Judy replied delicately.

Faye gave her head a tiny shake, almost a shudder. "Are you asking me to come to your parent's house when you tell them about you and Nicky?"

Nick sat bolt upright. "Fluff, are you sure about this?" He had a worried expression on his face. "Your parents are going to be harder to convince. You don't have to do this yet, you know. There's still time before the wedding."

"You've already set a date?" Faye asked in astonishment.

"Uh, yes and no," Nick answered, stalling for time.

Faye got a mother's frown on her face. "Nicolas Paul Wilde, you answer me right now!" Despite the seriousness of the situation Judy had fight off a case of the giggles at the sight of her irrepressible Nick being dressed down by his mother.

He sighed. "The date is whenever the new race track opens. We're going to ask Bogo to marry us at the track right before the first race."

Faye was horrified. "But everyone in the world will know!" she protested.

"That's kinda the point, Mom. We're not going to hide like the rest of them. I'm not ashamed of loving Judy, and I'm not going to pretend otherwise either." His voice was hard as steel.

Faye gaped at him wordlessly. "You're," . . . she licked her lips . . . "you're not the Nicky I used to know. You've grown up big and strong just like your father. He didn't back down from a fight either."

Judy felt her heart swell with pride at Faye's comparison of Nick to his father.

Faye sagged in her chair. "You're sure about this? Both of you?" Judy and Nick nodded in tandem. She nodded wearily. "In that case you have my blessings, and I'll come with you to your parent's house if you think it'll do any good," she added to Judy.

"Can you come now?" Judy asked.

Faye blinked. "Right now?"

Judy nodded.

"Ah, alright. Sure, why not?"

Nick put a paw on her arm. "This is our first day off in a while. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Nick, the more time they have to get used to it, the easier it will be when it happens," she told him. "Besides, doing it on our day off is best. It gives us plenty of time to answer all their questions."

"Where do they live?" Faye asked inquisitively.

"Bunnyburrow," they answered together.

"Good," she said firmly, drying her eyes. "That gives us enough time on the drive out there for you to fill me in on everything that's happened."

Nick knew when to surrender to the inevitable. "Bunnyburrow, here we come," he said with good grace. "Get your stuff together and let's go."

The trip was long enough not only to tell Faye all that had happened, but gave her additional time to ask questions and fill in the blanks. By the time they arrived she was as up to date as possible. "Gracious you've done a lot in a short amount of time," she exclaimed as they pulled into the driveway at Judy's parent's house.

Stu and Bonnie must have seen the truck coming up the street; they came out while they were still getting out of it. Bonnie hesitated at the sight of Faye, a wondering look on her face. Whatever she thought she pushed it away to hug her oldest daughter and gush over her. Stu was so overjoyed to see Judy he even shook paws with Nick and gave him a sort of half hug. He was fighting "the waterworks" as he called them the whole time.

Nick was introducing his mother to them when Judy's multitudinous brothers and sisters began pouring out of the house, overwhelming them with a cacophony that made conversation impossible. It took several long minutes to quiet them down and herd them back inside, especially since they all said she was famous now for being on TV a second time – with the Mayor and Gazelle! They kept wanting to know what she was like and if she sang for them and how big her apartment was and how high it was above the city and was it true she had gold bathroom fixtures and and and.

Inevitably though one of them noticed her ring and commented on it, just as the last of them were trailing into the house. "What kind of ring is that?"

Judy froze as her mother saw it, realized what it was, and nearly fell over backwards in shock.

"What ring?" Stu asked. He spotted it and whistled. "Good grief, Judy! The ZPD must pay better than we thought." He grabbed her paw to examine it better. "Hun, look at this," he called to Bonnie, unaware of her alarm. "You know it almost looks like an engagement ring."

"Uhm, Dad, it _is_ an engagement ring," Judy told him softly.

"It is?" He lit up like a billboard. "Hun! Judy is getting married! Who's the lucky fellow? Is it that tall one from Podunk? I really like him, he's a farmer pure and simple . . ."

"Nick and I are getting married," she half-shouted to stop him.

He was puzzled. "Nick who? I don't think you've introduc . . ." He ground to a halt. He looked from her to Nick then back to her in dawning realization. "You . . . you're . . . you're marrying a _fox_?"

She slid an arm around Nick's waist. This had to be a nightmare for him, she thought, almost like the Junior Ranger Scouts all over again. But before she could say anything he beat her to the punch, and proved it _wasn't_ like the Junior Range Scouts.

"Mister Hopps, you and your wife raised Judy to be the most wonderful, caring mammal I've ever met. I love her with all my heart and I'm going to spend the rest of my life doing everything in my power to make her happy – no matter what it takes." He pulled her close. "You should be proud of her."

Stu was lost. It was too much too fast. "Proud of her? Well, of course we're proud of her," he sputtered. "But –"

"And I know you love her as much as I do, don't you?"

"Hunh? Well, yeah, sure we love her as much as you do, wait, I mean more . . ."

"And so you understand how desperately I want to keep her safe and happy," Nick pressed him. Judy knew what he was up to, but for once she didn't mind his little word games because he was about to trick her father into giving them his blessings.

"Well who wouldn't?" Stu stammered, trying to keep up with Nick's rapid fire patter. He had the classic "deer in the headlights" look on his face. Behind him, Bonnie's mouth worked wordless as she tried to butt in.

"So who wouldn't fall in love with her, right?" Nick went on reasonably, nodding his head with an exaggerated movement. "Look at her, she's beautiful."

Stu didn't have a chance, he nodded in time with Nick like a puppet on a string. "Everyone loves Judy," he managed feebly.

"Which means you know why I want to marry her just like you wanted to marry Bonnie," Nick pressed his advantage.

"Marry her, yeah," Stu agreed, totally confused. "I mean –"

Nick pounced before he could finish, grabbing his paw and shaking it heartily. "Thank you, Mister Hopps! Thank you for consenting to our marriage. I won't let you down, sir. You can count on me!"

Judy couldn't help admiring Nick's tricky maneuver. She threw herself at her father too, hugging him fiercely. "Thank you, Daddy! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Over his shoulder her mother was staring helplessly at them, totally outgunned. She'd lost the battle before even it started, and she knew it.

Faye gave Bonnie a sympathetic smile. "If it's any comfort, they sprang it on me this morning too," she commiserated. She brightened. "I guess this means we're going to be in-laws."

Judy's brothers and sisters were explosive in their youthful exuberance. "Uncle Nicky and Aunt Foxy!" they shouted with glee, mixing up their kinship terms. They already knew and accepted Nick from his frequent visits during Judy's convalesce from the _Savage Mammal_ case; they simply extended their affection for him to his mother, swarming around them, jumping and hugging them, dancing around in jubilation. Some of them broke into an impromptu wedding song.

Faye raised an eyebrow, "Aunt _Foxy_?" She shrugged. "I can live with it," she smiled.

Bonnie, more practical and down-to-earth than Stu, surrendered to the inevitable. "Well, welcome to the family, Faye."

"Foxy Faye," some of Judy's older brothers and sisters shouted with laughter.

Bonnie fixed them with a gimlet eye. "None of your sass!" she returned quickly. "Now go make yourselves useful; get some drinks and snacks for us. Git!" She swatted them on the rear to get them moving. They trooped with pretended reluctance, shouting, laughing, rough housing as they went.

Stu had begun to recover his wits. He pushed Judy away. "You tricked me, young lady! You and your, your, your –"

"Fiancé," she supplied helpfully.

Stu glanced at Nick standing by her side, a hopeful, apprehensive look in his eyes. "Part . . ." he started to say then changed it when he saw Nick deflate like a child's balloon, ". . . fiancé," he agreed. "You tricked me into agreeing!" Nick's chest swelled and his shoulder went back as he straightened up. An ear-to-ear grin split his face.

Judy grabbed his paw blindly, fighting back tears as her father officially gave in. "But not any more, Daddy," she whispered.

He smiled fondly at his oldest daughter. "No honey, not any more." He held out his paw to Nick. "Promise me you'll take care of her," he said, fighting back his own tears.

Nick shook with him, slowly and formally. "I give you my word, Sir."

Before they could say anything else the mob of children returned, laden down with trays of drinks and snacks; cups, plates, saucers, bowls, and glasses. In the twinkling of an eye there was enough food laid out to feed an army.

The rest of the afternoon went by in a haze for Judy. Her love for Nick, out in the open and accepted by her family – perhaps not approved by her parents, but accepted nonetheless – was a dream come true. She couldn't remember being so happy since the day she graduated from the Police Academy. By sunset when they headed back to town she felt like she was floating on cloud nine.

After dropping Faye off at her house they made their way back to the apartment building. The media, tired of waiting for them, had long since departed. They parked the truck and took the elevator up to Judy's place, leaning contentedly against each other, arms around each other's waists.

They sank down on the couch. Judy laid her head on his chest, listening to his heart and feeling it's powerful beat beneath her. She sighed with deep contentment.

"That's sounds like a happy bunny," he commented lightly.

She nodded without lifting her head. "I've never been happier. Having my mom and dad accept you is like a dream come true. In a million years I would never have imagined we'd win them over so quickly."

"I, my dear, have the gift of gab," he proclaimed in a fake, pompous tone.

She giggled into his shirt, "That you do, mammal O'mine, that you do!"

 **For more of my writing, visit my web site**

 **Scribe of Texas (all one word, no spaces) period, then the letters c-o-m**


	8. Chapter 8

Zootopia

Racing on the Wilde Side

Chapter 8

The phone was already ringing off the hook when Nick and Judy got to their office Monday morning, even though they'd decided to go in half-an-hour early. Their voicemail, still un-setup in all the rush, was full to overflowing. Three of them were from Mayor Lionheart earlier that morning, each of them increasingly more impatient than the last.

"I guess we call Mayor Furface first," Nick quipped sarcastically after Lionheart's last roaring voicemail ended.

Judy's ears were flat, recoiling from the sheer volume of the Mayor's blast. She didn't even reprove Nick for his disrespect. "Be my guest," she invited him, gesturing at the phone. "You're the slick Nick around here."

He rolled his eyes. "Leave the humor to me, Carrots," he told her as he dialed. Before he could add more the Mayor's secretary picked up. "Hi," he said, "this is Detective Nick Wilde, Mayor Lio-, uh yeah, she is. Sure, we'll hold." He put a paw over the receiver. "Sheesh!" he muttered, shaking his head.

Judy could hear Lionheart's voice from across the room. "Wilde! Hopps! Are you both there?"

Nick nodded automatically. "Yes sir, Mister Mayor. I'm putting you on speaker phone." Judy shook her head but it was too late. Lionheart's voice boomed out of the speaker.

"I've got contractors by the dozens calling me trying to get in on this race track project," he thundered "Give me your number so I can send them to you! I've got my own work to do without getting caught up in yours!" Even when he was angry he still sounded like a movie start.

Nick craned his neck to see the numbers on their respective desk phones and gave them to him.

"Finally!" Lionheart roared, and hung up with a bang.

Judy flinched, her ears laying flatter than ever. "He needs to work on that temper," she muttered resentfully.

"He's a little different in private than he is in public, isn't he?" Nick agreed. He looked at the rapidly flashing voicemail light on their phone. "If he didn't have our number, who's calling us?"

Judy shrugged and pulled out a pad and pen. "Let's find out." He nodded and punched up the first message.

Twenty minutes later they concluded the mammals bugging Lionheart had managed to get through the ZPD switchboard to find their number after coming to a dead end with the Mayor. It was one message after another from contractors, earth moving companies, vendors, surveyors, fence builders, pavilion providers, auto parts suppliers, portable grandstand installers, reporters, street racers, and average citizens; all wanting to be part of the project, all offering their services, and all demanding an immediate answer from them.

"The flip side of fame," Judy noted sourly.

But Nick was rubbing his paws gleefully. "No, no, Fluff. This is great! It means interest in this thing is sky high, which means we can make some money on it on the side like I said."

"Nick," she warned him in dire tones.

He held up a quick paw. "I'm not getting greedy," he protested. "Well, not much anyway." He hurried on before she could respond to his quip. "If enough mammals are interested, and with Gazelle being onboard it seems a lot of them are, we can charge admission to watch the race and use part of the proceeds to post a reward for first place or something, use part of it to pay the contractors, and the remainder will be our profit."

Judy was pleasantly surprised at how reasonable his plan was. "Not bad, Nick. You're planning on splitting it with Tyrone and Gazelle aren't you?" She heard his heart speed up with pleasure.

"Nope," he shook his head, "with Tyrone and Gazelle, and Robert and Linda, and Lawrence and Shelly. Oh! And some for our parents too." He watched as her face lit up and a surge of pheromones filled the air.

"Wonderful!" she clapped. She leaned across their desks to give him a quick peck on the lips as a reward, although the tingle that ran down to her toes let her know it was as much for her as for him.

A quick shudder ran through his body. "Come oooonnnn wedding night," he enthused eagerly.

She giggled and another surge of pheromones saturated the air in the little office. Then her eyes widened as a sudden idea occurred to her. "Hey, mammal O'mine, I wonder if Tyrone and Gazelle know which of those grandstand installers are the best? Surely they must have used some of them for their concerts."

"I'll bet you're right," he smiled with admiration. "Let me call him and find out." They'd all exchanged cell phone numbers at the 'conference' on Saturday so they could stay in touch.

Judy opened her bag of office supplies, putting them on her desk and in the drawers while listening to Nick's end of his conversation with Tyrone. Pens, pencils, erasers, pads of paper, paper clips, stapler and staples, pads of lavender colored sticky notes, a big flat desk calendar, and finally a flowered trash can completed her domestic duties on her side of the office.

"That'd really help," he was saying to Tyrone. "If you can take care of that, it would leave Judy and I free to work on the track itself." He nodded in response to something Tyrone said. "Yep. Yep. That'll be great! Okay. Great. Thanks Tyrone. You're a life saver. Alright. Will do. Bye."

Judy smothered a grin. Listening to half a conversation on the phone was so entertaining it always made her want to laugh. It sounded disjointed.

Nick hung up. "Tyrone said to tell you Gazelle wants to figure out some way for all of us to get together on a regular basis from now on. She's sick and tired of being alone in their Ivory Tower."

"I'd like that," Judy smiled. She became more serious. "And I don't blame her for being tired of being alone. I can't imagine what its been like for them all these years."

He nodded. "That's why we'll never go into hiding like them. AND," he added, "it's one of the reasons I want us to make some money off this race track thing. If the public turns against us and we have to leave the ZPD, at least we'll have a nest egg to keep us going while we figure out what to do."

Fear came to life in her eyes. "Do you really think that'll happen?" she asked slowly.

He tried to shrug it off. "I don't know, I'm just trying to cover all the possibilities." He took her paws in his. "I'd rather be safe than sorry, you know?"

She nodded, fighting back tears. "No matter what we do it's going to be hard." It wasn't a question but he answered it anyway.

"Yeah, it will. I wouldn't give you up for anything in the world angel face, but yeah, no matter what what we do or say or what happens, it'll be hard." He was unusually somber. He took a deep breath. "But first things first: let's get this race track built."

Judy decided to follow his lead. "Yes. And get those racers off our streets!"

He burst out laughing. "Rhinowitz is right, you _do_ sound like Bogo."

She stuck out her tongue at him and grabbed the list of callers. "I'll take the top half, you take the bottom half and we'll meet in the middle." He nodded with a hopeful smile and they got to work.

By lunch they'd managed to set up an appointment to meet the surveyors that afternoon and gotten a firm commitment from the earth moving company to have a team of bulldozers and other heavy equipment out on site first thing in the morning. Judy hung up and straightened her back with a groan.

"I need to get out of this chair," she muttered, massaging her lower back.

Nick nodded sympathetically. "You and me both, Fluff." He suddenly brightened. "Hey! You want to go to the Hoof & Claw for lunch?"

"And see Bob and Linda while we're at it?" she grinned in delight.

"Sly bunny," he grinned.

It was an obvious set-up line but she couldn't resist taking it. "You know you love me," she teased, glad to put work behind them for a few minutes.

He cocked his head. "Do I know that?" He nodded as if in decision. "Yes, yes I do," he declared with a toothy grin.

She grinned back, loving the way his heart pattered when he said it. "Come on then," she said gaily as she slipped out of her chair. He followed close on her heels, sniffing the air wafting off her.

"Hmm," he moaned quietly. "You smell wonderful."

She slapped at him affectionately. "You're terrible."

Unfortunately for their good mood Bogo's door was open and he heard them coming down the hall. "Hopps! Wilde! Report!" he voice boomed out as they approached. Their shoulders slumped and they detoured into his office. "Well?" he asked without preamble.

Judy explained quickly about meeting the surveyors out at the site right after lunch, to which Nick added the earth movers would start working at first light in the morning. Bogo nodded approvingly. "Just keep them off the Mayor's line," he grumbled. "He nearly burned my ears off shouting about it this morning."

Judy had to fight to keep from giggling at his expression. Tyrone's nickname for Bogo, 'old sourpuss', fit him to a T right then. "Us too," she managed to say without laughing.

Bogo wasn't fooled though. He could see her trying to restrain her mirth. He changed the subject abruptly. "Remember that goat you arrested last week?" he said to Nick.

Nick's chest puffed out with pride. "I sure do!"

"Well, it turns out it was our old friend Ramses who hired him and his pals to rob that pharmacy," Bogo told them.

"What?!" Both of them nearly shouted it at once.

Now it was Bogo's turn to fight off a self-satisfied smile at their shocked expressions. "He contacted them by phone and had a prearranged drop point for them to stash the medical stuff and pick up their money." He gave them the address; it was basically just a random address in the middle of town, as anonymous as possible.

"So he's still in town and still working on who-knows-what?" Judy said wonderingly.

"But where's he getting the money?" Nick quizzed the chief before he could answer her.

"Yes, and we don't know," Bogo said, answering them in order. "The faster you can finish this race track deal the faster we can get you back out on the streets to stop him."

Nick and Judy exchanged a look of agreement. "Then what are we standing around for?" she asked. "Let's get moving."

"That's my girl," Nick nodded approvingly as they headed out of Bogo's office.

The Chief shook his head with a grin behind their backs. Rhinowitz was right, she _did_ sound like him.

It was Nick's turn to drive so Judy settled back in the passenger seat, frowning thoughtfully out the window as he steered them out of town. After a few minutes of silence she turned back to him. "Nick? I don't think he's going to use that nitrogen to break Bellwether out of prison, at least not the way you thought."

He nodded. "I was thinking the same thing, Fluff. But if not, what's he up to then."

She shook her head. "That's the million dollar question, isn't it? Bellwether was the driving force behind their _savage mammal_ deal because she wanted power, but Ramses was the brains that made it possible. What if he's finally come out of his sister's shadow and is striking out on his own for a change?"

Nick frowned. "If so, who knows what he's after? It could be anything." He turned onto the bridge taking them across the water toward the diner. His frown deepened. "How much nitrogen did he take? Did we ever find out?"

Judy shook her head. "No, but we can ask." She grabbed the mic. "Delta 9 to base, come in base."

Clawhauser answered after a brief pause. "Yeah, Delta 9?" He sounded like he was swallowing a bite of food.

She grinned briefly, then turned serious. "How much nitrogen did Ramses make off with from that company he robbed last week?"

"Hang on a minute," he answered. In the background she could hear him punching keys on his computer. "Found it. It says he made off with a tank with 400 gallons of liquid nitrogen in it."

"Nitrogen has to be pressurized to remain a liquid," she said. "Was it a steel tank? Single hulled, double hulled?"

"Uh . . ." Clawhauser fumbled a bit. "I don't know. It doesn't say."

"And how did he move it?" Nick interjected as they left the bridge. "Was it on a trailer or in the back of a work truck or van?" Judy passed the questions on to the pudgy dispatcher.

"No info on either of those," Clawhauser replied sheepishly.

"Have someone call the company and find out," Judy instructed him gently, aware she was still a relative rookie at the ZPD despite her – temporary – status as a detective. "If it's a single hulled steel tank our aerial units might be able to find it with thermal scans. It'd be cooler than anything around it."

"Especially if it's on the back of a trailer or open-bed work truck," Nick added. "It'd be more exposed."

Judy nodded and passed it on to Clawhauser.

"Uh, wow. Okay then, I'll have someone check it out and get back to you," the good-natured cheetah answered. He sounded suitably awed by their questions and explanations.

"The heavy hitters are at it again," someone piped in over the radio without identifying themselves.

Nick winked at Judy then turned serious. "You know, I've been thinking about that address for the drop point, Bogo told us about. Isn't that near the ice cream shop where we first met?"

Judy shrugged, "I don't know." She pulled out her phone and opened Zooglemaps. She punched a few keys. "It is!" she exclaimed excitedly. "It's right next door to it in fact."

Nick nodded in satisfaction. "You know, right before I went into the ice cream shop a ram in a Fresh Doe panel truck pulling out of the alley next to it nearly ran me over, even yelled at me to watch where I was going. I just caught a glimpse of him, but the more I think about it, the more I'm convinced it was ole Douggie himself."

Judy's eyes sparkled and her ears shot straight up. "You think he has a hideout there?"

"Or somewhere close by," Nick agreed, his own excitement mirroring hers. "Wanna put lunch on hold and go check it out?"

"Of course!" she laughed excitedly. "Catching bad guys is _our_ thrill of the hunt!"

"Then here we go!" Nick spun the wheel, tires squealing.

Judy grabbed the mic. "Delta 9, calling any car near the ice cream shop at . . ." she paused to read off the address.

Wolford answered right away. "Delta 9 this is 37, my 20 is about 2 blocks from there. What do you need?"

She gave him a quick rundown of their suspicions Ramses might have a place there and why. "But hang back," she cautioned him. "We don't want him seeing a black-and-white with the lights going and get scared off. Park around the corner and be ready to back us up if we flush him out."

"10-4!" Wolford enthused. "I was getting bored anyway."

"Delta 9, this is 24," Grizzoli interrupted them. "I'm close to that address too. Want some additional backup?"

Nick and Judy exchanged grins at Grizzoli's obvious plea to be included in the excitement. "Sure," she answered. "You and 37 can flank him east and west. How's that?"

"10-4," Grizzoli responded quickly. "Best thing I've heard all morning."

"Everyone needs a little thrill of the hunt sometimes," Judy giggled, tossing down the mic.

Nick gave her a quick wink. "Maybe we should get Lawrence and Shelly to do a ride-along with some cops for a while and see it first hand. It might give them some more ideas for their theories."

Judy gave him an admiring look. "Pretty slick idea, mammal O'mine."

"There's Wolford," he said as they pulled up beside to a parked police car.

Judy rolled down her window. "Ready to rip and run?" she asked him.

"You know it," he answered with a toothy grin.

Both their radios cracked as Grizzoli called in he was 10-23, on scene. Judy answered with a quick 10-4, and they pulled around the corner. The ice cream shop was there with the ally right beside it. "Is that the one?" she asked.

Nick nodded as he parked across the street. "Look," he pointed. A white panel truck with a red cab was parked back in the alley, nearly out of sight in the shadows. "Can you see what's written on the side?"

She shook her head. "It looks like there might be a logo but we'll have to get closer to tell for sure." They got out and sauntered across the street as if they hadn't a care in the world. As they walked Judy continued in a casual, conversational tone of voice, "I was right, it _is_ a logo of some kind."

Nick tried not to peer too anxiously at it. "I think you're right. It definitely looks like the same truck." He glanced around with a bored attitude; no one was paying any attention to them. He slipped into the alley with Judy close on his heels. After a few feet they both said it at the same time, "Fresh Doe!" when they saw the logo.

Nick tried the cab door but it was locked. He climbed up to look inside. Judy explored a few feet further into the shadowy alley. "Nick!" she hissed to get his attention.

He jumped down and hurried over. "What?" He kept his voice down to match hers.

She pointed at a door opposite the ice cream shop. "That's the only door." A brick wall cut the alleyway in half so there was only one way in or out. "If this is Ramses' truck, he has to be in there." For the first time since she'd become a cop she pulled out her sidearm.

Nick followed suit. "Be careful, Judy," he whispered seriously. "I don't want to lose you."

She smiled brilliantly at him for a moment, then added. "And I don't want to lose you." She eased toward the door, pistol at the ready in both paws. A reflected bit of light on the ground caught her eye. Puzzled, she looked around until she saw it; a security camera mounted above the door, reflecting the lone beam of sunlight penetrating the steep sides of the alley. "Uh oh."

A moment later Nick saw it too but before they could react the door burst open and Doug Ramses charged out, flanked by two goats, all with their horns lowered in a mad rush at them. Judy yelped and bounded out of the way, bouncing off the side of the panel truck to land behind them. Nick dove under the truck, rolling quickly to his feet on the other side.

Judy was screaming into her radio, "It's Ramses and two goats! They're trying to get away in a Fresh Doe panel truck! Stop 'em, stop 'em!"

Through window Nick saw Ramses throw open the door and scramble in with the goats right behind him. The truck started with a roar, nearly deafening in the close confines of the alley. He bared his teeth and fired point blank through the window of the passenger door.

The glass starred from the impact but the bullet ricocheted, kicking up dust where it hit the brick wall of the ice cream shop, barely two inches from Nick's head. He grabbed his own radio. "Bullet proof glass," he yelled, "bullet proof glass!"

Ramses gave him an evil grin through the window as he slammed the truck into gear and took off, his spinning tires throwing bits of debris all over them. Judy growled in frustration and bounded after them, making a beeline for their car. "24! He's headed your way!"

"10-4, I see him," Grizzoli answered. His car swung into the street, slewing sideways to block both lanes.

Ramses didn't even slow down; his truck rammed the rear end Grizzoli's car, spinning it around in circles until it slammed into a parked car on the side of the road. It rocked on it's wheels before settling to a stop.

Judy changed course in an instant. She got to Grizzoli just was he was forcing the door open. "Are you alright?" she asked quickly. Behind her she heard Nick starting their own car just as Wolford went tearing past in his black-and-white, sirens blaring.

The big grizzly staggered a bit as he emerged, blood trickling down one side of his head. "I'm fine," he slurred. "Just get that snake in the grass!" He pushed her away toward the car Nick was pulling up beside them in. "Go!"

"Right!" She ran and slid across the hood of their car then jumped inside. Nick pealed out before she even had the door closed. She grabbed the mic off the dash. "Officer down!" she called. "Car 24 was hit and Grizzoli is conscious but bleeding from a head wound." The radio was alive with officers as Wolford called for backup and a blockade, but Clawhauser heard her and radioed a quick 10-4 and added he'd send an ambulance.

Ahead of them they saw a row of pipes sticking out under the back bumper of Ramses' truck. Judy frowned. "What are those?" 

Nick shook his head slightly, concentrating on driving. "I was wondering the same thing."

A moment later they got an answer. Clear liquid, bubbling and steaming sprayed out of them, covering the whole road. Wolford drove through it; instantly his tires froze then shattered into a million pieces. His car dropped to the ground, slewing out of control until he ran into a light pole.

"NICK!" Judy screamed.

He whipped the wheel over, sending them bouncing violently as he drove over the curb up onto the sidewalk. A lone rhino, talking on his phone as he stumped slowly along, roared in surprise, barely managing to roll up on the hood of a parked car to avoid being hit. They passed the spilled liquid and Nick steered them back onto the road, bouncing them around again as they dropped of the curb. Sparks flew as they bottomed out for a moment.

Judy grabbed frantically for the mic as she saw Wolford getting ready to get out of his ruined car. "Wolford! Don't! It's liquid nitrogen! If you step in it your feet will freeze solid and have to be amputated! Stay in your car!" He must have heard her because he stopped trying to get out and waved acknowledgment.

Nick growled angrily, teeth bared in the kind of snarl she hadn't seen on him since he pretended to go savage in the museum. This time though she knew in her heart he was _her_ savage predator. "Get us some aerial support," he barked harshly, "we'll never catch him like this!"

She nodded, turning to the mic. "Delta 9 to base and all cars. Ramses is spraying liquid nitrogen all over the streets. If anyone drives through it their tires freeze and shatter, disabling them. Hang back and be careful. Clawhauser! We need helicopters to track him."

A chorus of 10-4's blacked out his reply for a minute then the chubby cheetah came through in the clear. "Negative on the helicopters. They're all having engine trouble this morning and maintenance is short-handed because some of the mechanics didn't come into work."

Nick and Judy glanced at each other. "ALL of them are having engine problems?" Judy asked.

"Sorry," Clawhauser responded. "It's just bad timing."

"Or good planning," Nick grunted as he fought the steering wheel, trying to keep Ramses in view while staying far enough back to be able to avoid any nitrogen spills he might unleash on them. "I wonder if it was the missing mechanics who sabotaged them?"

"And where did the mechanics come from in the first place?" Judy added. She relayed their questions and concerns to Clawhauser.

He gulped in dismay as the import of them became apparent. "I'll check into it," he stuttered.

Ahead a black-and-white swung in directly behind Ramses' truck. "35, I'm 10-80 behind red and white panel truck," McHorn radioed in.

"49 enroute, ETA, 1 minute," another officer answered. 49 was Fangmeyer but it didn't sound like him.

Judy frowned at the radio. "Did that sound like _Tyrone_?" she asked Nick.

"Sounded like it to me," he answered, still concentrating on Ramses, "but you better tell McHorn to back off before he gets . . ."

Before he could finish getting the words out, liquid sprayed from the back of Ramses' truck, McHorn ran into it and all his tires froze then exploded like a machine gun going off. His car dropped to the ground, sliding across the street in a shower of sparks until he careened into a row of bushes. Judy pounded the dash with her fist in anger then had to grab on for dear life as Nick was forced to brake and fishtail around the dangerous pool of freezing nitrogen. They lost more ground on their quarry. "Get some backup!" Nick yelled, "we're losing him!"

Judy nodded. "Delta 9 to all cars, don't get right on Ramses' tail! We just lost 35 that way. McHorn! Are you alright?" she added.

"Fine," he answered with disgust. "Just bruised and banged up."

"We need backup," she continued almost without pausing. "We've got to box him in, it's the only way to stop him! 49, where are you?"

Up ahead Ramses' truck suddenly swerved violently as a patrol car shot out of a side street and nearly rammed him. "Trying to ram him," 49 shouted. They could see two tigers in the front seat. Ramses managed to straighten out and pull away from them, spewing more nitrogen behind him. 49 had to run up on the sidewalk to avoid it. Nick yanked hard on the wheel, taking them up on the opposite sidewalk.

Judy was prepared this time and held on tight but the car still bounced them around wildly. "Tyrone! Is that you?"

"Yep! I was doing a right-along for old times sake when it hit the fan," Tyrone radioed back.

"51, en route. Where is Ramses headed? I'll set up a 10-93 for you," Rhinowitz butted in.

Nick glanced at the street they were on and his eyes widened. "He's headed for the prison!" he shouted. "He's going to try to spring Bellwether after all."

Judy relayed the information quickly. Pennington, in car 17 radioed in she was near the prison and would assist 51 in setting up the 10-93. "Make it fast," Judy implored her. "We can't get close enough to keep him in sight! If he turns off we'll lose him."

Nick waited until she was done. "We won't lose him," he said confidently. "He's going for his sister, count on it."

Judy had to agree; everything pointed to a well thought-out plan to break Bellwether out of jail. She had one objection though. "He didn't know we'd be coming to his hideout," she said, hanging on as Nick slid them around another corner, still desperately trying to keep Ramses in sight. "Maybe we forced him to move before everything was ready."

Nick and Fangmeyer slammed on their brakes simultaneously as Ramses' truck spewed liquid nitrogen across the entire alley he had turned into. Judy nearly slid off her seat onto the floorboards as they screeched to a halt.

Tyrone yelled at them on the radio. "My nephew grew up around here! He knows a shortcut!"

Nick waved at him then threw it into reverse. Tires squealed as they backed up, lurched to a stop, then peeled out again after Fangmeyer, laying down rubber the whole way. Judy fumbled hastily for her seat belt. "I'm gonna be black-and-blue after this," she yelled over the engine.

In spite of everything Nick still found time to leer briefly at her. "Want me to massage it and make it all better?" he purred. She laughed and didn't answer.

Fangmeyer whipped his car around a corner and into a major thoroughfare. Way ahead, just barely visible, was the top of Ramses' truck. A panel was open and his two goat assistants were visible from the waist up, holding some bulky tubing or something.

"Delta 9, are you seeing this?" Tyrone called. "What is that? Can you tell?"

Nick and Judy shook their heads together. She keyed the mic as Nick stood on the accelerator. "No idea," she answered, "but it can't be good. 17 and 51, be advised, suspect ETA at your 20 in less than a minute, and they're up to something on the roof of the truck so be careful."

Both cars 10-4'd as others radioed in they were approaching the scene as well. There were so many coming it was practically the whole ZPD. Nick frowned. Ramses was smarter than this. He had to know they'd radioed ahead to set up a blockade and surround him. What was he up to? He didn't really think he could get away with this did he?

Judy heard his heartbeat change and looked over at him. "What?"

"I don't know," he growled. "Everything we know about Ramses says he's careful and methodical. This is too slap-dash and haphazard. It doesn't feel right."

Worry lines etched themselves between Judy's eyes. "We're about to find out," she said. "Look!"

Up ahead the truck fishtailed as it screeched to a halt in the entrance to the prison parking lot. They could see flashing lights everywhere and more moving in to surround him. The goats had the tubing on their shoulders. Fire and smoke shot out of the back ends of them, followed an instant later by twin explosions on the ground halfway between them and the nearest squad car.

"Rocket launchers!" Judy shouted in fear.

A wild crackle of gunfire ripped the air as every officer there opened up on them. Behind the ranked police cars they could see prison guards peering over the high walls, aiming rifles at the panel truck. Even in the daylight they could see muzzle flashes as the guards fired.

A stray round _spanged_ off the hood of their car. Nick and Judy ducked involuntarily. "Yikes!" He yanked the wheel over to get out of the line of fire. Beside them, Fangmeyer did the same thing in the opposite direction.

Before Nick could get the car stopped two things happened: first, a ramp in the side of the truck dropped down and Ramses sped out of it on a motorcycle. Then at virtually the same instant there was a huge explosion, followed by liquid nitrogen spraying in every direction around the truck. It flew twenty yards in every direction, coating and freezing everything it touched. A huge pool of it followed, expanding rapidly as rivers of the dangerous liquid flowed out of gaps torn in the truck by the initial blast. The two goats at the top of the truck, standing in their hatches, were frozen solid in mid-motion.

Judy gasped as her seat belt nearly cut her in half when Nick slammed on the brakes. They slide to a halt just inches from the spreading pool of nitrogen. He threw it into reverse to get away from it. Around them, officers were running for their lives as the pool reached their cars, freezing the tires and everything it touched.

Ramses launched his motorcycle into a narrow alley and moments later the growing pool of nitrogen complete engulfed the entrance preventing anyone from following him. The sound of his engine quickly died in the distance.

Ice cold fog drifted up from the bubbling nitrogen, giving the warm day a wintry chill. Judy shivered as she pushed open the door and climbed out. Nick came around to her side of the car to survey the area. Fangmeyer and Tyrone silently joined them. The rest of the police officers stopped running and began quietly drifting back toward them as the nitrogen slowed down and quit spreading.

The panel truck, ripped and burned, was frosted white with the sub-zero cold, as were Ramses' two cohorts on top of it. He'd sacrificed them for his own safety without so much as a backward glance.

A low, angry rumble caught Judy's attention. She glanced sideways at Tyrone. He was growling deep in his chest. He saw the three of them looking at him and growled louder. "If I ever get my claws on Ramses I'll have him for lunch! I wanted to be a cop to _stop_ things like this!"

"I know what you mean, Unc," Fangmeyer nodded in agreement, the tone in his voice matching his uncle's.

"I think we can all say 'amen' to that," Nick added. Cold fury was stamped on his face, obscuring his normally pleasant demeanor.

"I wanted to make the world a better place," Judy said, remembering a line from her long-ago, childhood play about Zootopia. "But this," she waved a paw at the devastation before them, "isn't what I had in mind." Their radios crackled with Clawhauser demanding an update. She reached through her open door and snagged the mic. "Ramses escaped and his two accomplices are dead," she snapped more harshly than she intended.

Bogo's voice interrupted Clawhauser before he could do more than gasp. "Charlie Papa to Delta 9, say again?" Charlie Papa, C.P., short for Chief of Police, was Bogo's normal call sign on the radio.

Judy repeated her first report, adding, "Ramses had his truck set for self-destruct or something. It blew up sending nitrogen all over the place. It froze his buddies in their tracks and stopped the rest of us from following him when he made off on a motorcycle."

Bogo's voice was more subdued when he answered her. "10-4, Delta 9. So he didn't make it to the prison to spring Bellwether?"

"Negative," she replied. "He was giving it everything he had though. It was definitely his target."

"10-4," he said. "Seal off the area, I'm on my way down."

"10-4," she said absently.

Clawhauser came back on, his voice eager and helpful. "By the way Delta 9, I checked on those mechanics you asked about? It seems Bellwether hired a bunch of new employees while she was in office. Two of them were goats who were assigned to maintenance in the helicopter hangar. They're the ones who didn't come in this morning."

The four of them stared at each other in surprise and mounting anger. "How many is 'a bunch', Clawhauser?" Judy asked quickly, eyeing the frozen forms on the truck.

"43," he answered cheerfully. "She assigned 'em everywhere. There's even three of them working at the prison."

"The prison?!" Nick shouted, swinging around to take in all the guards still looking at them from the walls. "No! No! No!" he gritted yanking out his phone and dialing frantically.

"Nick?" Judy looked at him.

"Calling the warden, get him to check on Bellwether," he explained in rapid fire patter. "Come on!" he shouted at the phone, "Pick up! Pick up!"

Finally someone answered and he started talking before they could finish their introduction. "Bellwether assigned some new guards to the prison while she was mayor! They may be trying to break her out! Get someone down there to check it out! Hurry!"

Whoever it was said something indistinct and questioning.

"Detective Nick Wilde!" he practically screamed in frustration. "I'm one of the cops outside right now! Get someone to check it out!" This time Judy didn't find listening to half a conversation entertaining at all.

He hung up, stabbing viciously at the button. Fangmeyer and Tyrone were staring fixedly at the prison, their paws balled up into fists. Sirens in the distance, growing louder, bespoke of other police cars coming their way. TV vans were approaching down the street as well.

Judy laid a gentle paw on Nick's arm to calm him down. He glanced down at her and took a deep breath. "Don't worry, angel face, We're not going to go off the deep end. Well, not yet anyway."

Fangmeyer barely glanced at him. "Speak for yourself, buddy. I don't need the Night Howlers to make me go savage right now." Tyrone, standing beside him, growled in agreement.

Judy felt a measure of sympathy for them. She felt the same way. "If they did break her out, it means all this," she waved a paw at the scene before them, "was just a diversion to draw the guards away from their posts and pin us down so we couldn't follow them."

Nick laughed bitterly. "Yeah, and we didn't even see it coming! Some 'heavy hitters' we are," he added morosely.

"Knock it off," Tyrone snarled. "Ramses had weeks to plan this thing. You can't blame yourself for not figuring it out during the middle a high speed chase. No one could."

Judy laid her head on Nick's shoulder. "He's right . . ." she started to say before being interrupted.

Clawhauser's frantic voice suddenly came over the radio, cutting her off. "Calling all cars! Calling all cars! Warden Anderson reports three guards have aided and abetted Dawn Bellwether in escaping from prison! All four of them are to be considered armed and extremely dangerous."

Fangmeyer slammed his fist down on the hood of his squad car, leaving a huge dent in it. He let out a jungle roar of frustration and anger at the top of his lungs. Tyrone and the other officers all around them echoed him so loudly it sounded as if they were actually back in the jungle for a minute. Pennington was trumping in anger, her higher pitched trump sounding loud and clear over the noise of the howls and roars coming from all sides. Judy even found herself growling in rage.

In spite of everything Nick couldn't stop himself from grinning down at her. "You know, it still sounds cute when bunnies growl."

She punched him in the side. "Oh, ha ha." She turned back to the prison. "In the meantime, it looks like Zootopia just got it's first pair of super villains."

 **For more of my writing, visit my web site**

 **Scribe of Texas (all one word, no spaces) period, then the letters c-o-m**


	9. Chapter 9

Zootopia

Racing on the Wilde Side

Chapter 9

Judy's "super villain" comment wound up on the 6 o'clock news that evening, sparking endless debates among the talking heads and a severe tongue lashing by Chief Bogo the next morning, followed by an equally unpleasant one from Mayor Lionheart. Neither of them appreciated hearing the news quoting one of their most famous detectives saying something like that. It made both the ZPD and the city look bad.

For her part Judy was appropriately chastened. She'd seen the news vans pulling up and hadn't realized they were close enough to overhear her remark, or considered how it could be interpreted. It reminded her of Lionheart telling that while she and Nick might not care about politics, politics was going to start caring about them and they needed to be careful.

It was a stern admonishment that her meteoric rise in the ZPD could end as swiftly as it began.

Nick was equally subdued, although for a different reason. It reinforced his trepidation about their future when their romantic involvement became public. He had no intention of backing down from their wedding plans but popularity was fickle; yesterday's hero could easily become tomorrow's outcast.

He doubled down on his plans for reaping a profit from their race track project. Judy had to agree it was the prudent thing to do.

For the rest of the week they poured all their energy into getting the gigantic dirt track ready for the racers, until paving trucks from the city street maintenance yards showed up at Lionheart's orders to lay down a single layer of asphalt. They hadn't planned on paving the track but the Mayor didn't know that and once the trucks arrived they didn't want to send them back so they let them proceed.

"The racers will really be able to build up speed on that thing," Nick commented as they sat eating lunch on the newly installed bleachers watching the city crews laying down the steaming asphalt.

"Maybe too much speed," Judy nodded around a mouthful of her FLT sandwich – fish, lettuce, and tomato – from the Hoof & Claw. Robert and Linda had more business than they knew what to do with since all the vendors working on the track started coming to their diner. They'd already had to hire one new waitress and needed another one, not to mention someone to help Robert in the kitchen. "If they're not careful they could have a huge wreck out there."

Nick brushed the crumbs off his paws from his own sandwich and slurped on his drink. "We'll warn 'em," he agreed, "but it's their cars and their lives. At least out there the only ones they're endangering is themselves."

"You're right," Judy sighed. "The whole point of this thing was to get them off the streets so they don't hurt anyone _else_. What they do to themselves is their problem, I guess."

On a different note, Tyrone had gone through the blueprints for his and Gazelle's building and discovered an old, unused service tunnel that connected their building to the sub-basement of the train terminal downtown, the same one Judy had arrived at when she first came to town. The scarred brick tunnel, at least a hundred years old, was wet and covered with mildew but still usable. It provided the perfect way for the rest of them to get in to see Tyrone and Gazelle without anyone being the wiser.

Gazelle, desperately lonely, practically begged the rest of them to use the tunnel to come over every night for dinner. It was an easy decision.

The only fly in the ointment was that Robert and Linda usually had to arrive late because of booming business at their diner, but they made a point of showing up no matter what time it was. On Friday they arrived just as everyone else was getting ready to leave. They all stayed a bit longer to visit with them then had to leave to go home and get some sleep.

Their evening get togethers created a growing friendship between them as well as strengthening Nick and Judy's resolve to go through with their wedding plans before the first race at the track. Lawrence and Shelly were even considering doing the same thing. Both of them had tenure at the university so the financial consequences to them were virtually nil. The social consequences of course were another matter entirely. They were still debating it. It made for a popular item of discussion during their evenings as a group.

Nick's mother, Faye, appeared resigned to their wedding and was making the best of it but Judy's parents changed their minds seemingly every day. One day they were supporting it then the next they were dead set against it. They went back-and-forth like a push-me/pull-you out of the storybooks. Their continual mood swings on the subject were giving Judy emotional whiplash.

With so much going on they started falling behind on their paperwork at the office, to the point they had to go into work Saturday just to get caught up. The weekend desk sergeant waved at them as they went upstairs, but didn't warn them Bogo was in his office too, so his bellowing summons as he heard them going pass his door caught them by surprise.

"Hopps! Wilde! I know that's you out there! Get in here!"

They exchanged a "now what?" look then ventured in. They were surprised to find him wearing civilian clothes, the first time they'd ever seen him out of uniform.

"Close the door and sit down," he ordered them gruffly.

"I didn't know you were here today, Chief," Judy noted with surprise.

He shrugged massive shoulders. "I'm salary not hourly. I work until the job is done. Which sometimes, means a lot of extra time in the office," he sighed. He looked her over. "What's your excuse?"

"Actually, the same thing," she answered, squirming to get comfortable on the hard plastic chair. "Even if we're only temporary detectives we're still salary as long as we are. We won't go back to our hourly wages until we go back on patrol."

He nodded absently. "That's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about. I was planning on hauling you in here Monday after morning roll call, but since we're all here, we might as well do it now."

Nick and Judy held their breath, wondering if he was going to put them back in uniform before the track was finished.

"The Mayor and I agree the two of you are more valuable as detectives than patrol officers," he said flatly.

"Wha . . . what?" they stuttered. He nodded, gaining a bit of satisfied amusement at their stunned expressions. "But, but, I made such a mess of things with that _super villain_ comment," Judy objected in disbelief. "How can you say that?"

"We all make mistakes," Bogo shrugged. "You learn your lesson and go on. Leo and I were both impressed with the way you owned up to it and took everything we dished out."

Nick beamed proudly at Judy and squeezed her paw.

"What really convinced us though was the way you flushed out Ramses and figured out what he was up to."

Nick was confused. "But we figured it out too late," he protested, "and he and Bellwether got away." Judy nodded her agreement.

Bogo smiled paternalistically at them. "The fact you figured it out at all is the point. Tyrone told me what he said to you and he was right; deducing what Ramses was up to in the middle of a high-speed chase is more than anyone has a right to expect. Rhinowitz is right too, you _are_ heavy hitters. You think fast and outside of the box." He shook his head. "You'd be wasted out on routine patrol or handing out parking tickets." He winked at Judy with a grin, remembering how he'd stuck her with exactly that on her first day on the job. He stuck out his paw. "Give me those temp badges," he ordered.

Silently they handed them over. In return he gave them two brand new badges with their names already embossed on them. They took them in awe. He turned a couple of pages around, a promotion form for each of them. "And sign these," he added.

They signed the forms.

"Congratulations," he smiled. "You're now permanent detectives, junior grade, but detectives. And it comes with a raise. Not much of one," he admitted, "but there it is."

"A raise is a raise," Nick said, looking on the bright side as he polished his badge on his sleeve.

"Say that after you see your first case," Bogo said with bass chuckle, hefting a huge file. He dropped it on his desk with a resounding thud that shook the pictures on the wall behind him.

"Uh, is that what I think it is?" Judy ventured, feeling both excitement and dread at the same time.

Bogo gave her an evil grin. "Your super villains, the Bellwether/Ramses case. It's everything we've got on them from Day One. Find 'em, bring 'em in," he ordered. He smiled down at them with an exaggerated smile like an alligator. "Dismissed."

Judy and Nick staggered out of his office carrying the huge file between them. It weighed more than both of them combined. They boosted the unwieldy thing onto their combined desks in their office with a sigh of relief.

"It's a little bigger than my first case file," she huffed, windmilling her arms from the strain of carrying it.

Nick grinned. "You think?" She slapped at him but he easily dodged her half-hearted swing. He sat down, patting his lap. "Come here, Fluff."

She gave him an arch look. "Nick. We're at work."

"On the weekend. In a private office. With the door closed," he countered cheerfully. In spite of her objections and reproving tone he could smell her pheromones increasing rapidly. "Come on," he cajoled her. "A promotion, raise, and our first big case deserves a little something to commemorate it." Her pheromones were going through the roof and he knew he had her.

Her ears twitched at the increase in his heart beat as she sauntered toward him, unable to keep a sultry look out of her eyes. "Don't go getting ahead of yourself just yet, Mister Slick Nick," she whispered against his mouth as she settled in his lap. "It's still a week until the track opens and we get married."

He nibbled at her lip. "I know," he whispered back. "Just think of this as . . . _practice_."

Her eyes fairly glowed. "Oh. I think I'm going to like prac . . ." Her words trailed off as his lips claimed hers. His heart was a kettle drum in her ears as they sank into each other.

That night they had time to snuggle some more on the couches in Gazelle's living room with the rest of their predator-prey friends. The last light of the setting sun streaming in through the picture windows lit them in a warm, soft glow.

"The physical track itself is done," Judy reported from the warmth of Nick's encircling embrace, reveling in being able to openly express her affections for him without fear of public rebuke. The others, snuggled up two-by-two shared her feelings.

"Which means the rest of it, the concession stands, tickets, and such is in your paws," Nick told Tyrone.

The big tiger seesawed one paw in the air. "Kinda," he temporized.

They were puzzled. "What do you mean?" Linda asked him lazily. Since she and Robert weren't involved with prepping the track it really didn't matter to them who did what. Lawrence and Shelly had the same detached attitude toward it as well, for the same reason.

Gazelle sat up with the air of someone bursting to tell a secret. "Tyrone and I have been talking it over the past several days and finally decided to put on a mini-concert before the first race begins," she announced brightly.

Stunned silence was broken by a hubbub of exclamations and gasps of amazement.

Lawrence sat up quickly, nearly dumping Shelly off the couch. "Sorry, hun," he told her quickly. He pulled her back up. "That'll turn this thing into a major event!" he blurted.

Nick burst into laughter. "Where have you been hiding, Professor? This thing already _is_ a major event! A concert by Gazelle is just the icing on top."

Gazelle gave him an arch look. " _Just?_ "

"The wonderful, creamy, finger-licking good icing," he corrected smoothly. "Come on," he protested cheerfully, "you know what I meant."

"I know," she giggled like a school girl. "I _just_ wanted to see how got yourself out of it." She glanced conspiratorially at Judy. "Now I see why you call him 'Slick Nick'."

They shared a girl's laugh between them at his expense. He put on his best wounded expression but they only laughed harder at him, so he tried changing the subject. "There's going to be a lot going on at that race, so what happens first; our wedding or the concert?"

They settled down. "Does it matter?" Judy asked, craning her head to look up at him. "I thought you were only interested in the wedding _night_?" Oohs and aahs ran around the room at his sudden embarrassment.

"Actually I think it does matter," Shelly butted in, saving him from the moment.

Judy gave her a quizzical look. "Why?"

Shelly shook off Lawrence's arm, sitting up primly like the teacher she was. "Larry and I specialized in anthropology but there's a lot of psychology wrapped up in it too. We had to use it when we were doing our research on predator-prey relationships."

They all nodded, wondering where she was going with this.

"And psychologically speaking there's a lot to be said for having the marriage first, _then_ the concert." Nick and Judy leaned forward intently, hanging on to her every word. "A predator-prey marriage, done so publicly, is going to generate a lot of controversy and heated emotions, but when it's wedded – if you'll forgive the phrasing – to a concert by Gazelle along with all the positive emotions from it, that will take a lot of the steam out of things. When two strong emotions are joined, they inevitably water each other down. AND," she continued, "mammals have a tendency to remember the last thing they saw the best. Whatever happens last tends to overshadow whatever came first." Beside her, Lawrence was nodding in his best grandfatherly, professorial mode.

Robert leaned forward, eyes narrowed in thought. "You may be on to something," he added. "This whole race track thing was brought on by our altered biology due to that asteroid or meter impact. Predator-prey relationships are a direct result of it too. If you and Lawrence could make a public statement about it before Chief Bogo performs their wedding ceremony," he gestured at Nick and Judy, "it would go a long way toward changing everyone's perception of things."

Tyrone raised an eyebrow at him. "So you're convinced it was the asteroid thing instead of evolution that created us?"

"It's the only explanation that fits all the facts," he shrugged. "Speaking for myself, I'd say it's a done deal."

Lawrence bestirred himself. "Remember that wolf and sheep couple who were so afraid of coming forward?"

Robert nodded, along with the rest of them.

"He called me earlier today after seeing us on TV," Lawrence told them. They all sat up with interest. "He finally unbent enough to give me some personal information. His name is Buck. In his younger days he used to work as a sled dog delivering dry goods to stores up north in gold rush country. His lover, Mary, was one of the store owners he delivered to. He was pretty rough and tumble until he met her, and after they fell in love she taught him to read and write. He's actually quite brilliant in his own way," he added admiringly. "He's a bit of a self-taught geologist and he called to say he thinks he has a piece of the meteor."

"WHAT?"

They all exploded with a million questions at the same time.

"Whoa! Slow down, slow down!" he bellowed at them, waving for them to sit down. "He called less than an hour before Shelly and I came over. I haven't had a chance to meet him or see the sample or anything." They finally settled down to hear him out, but their eyes were alive with barely suppressed excitement.

Satisfied they were listening, he continued. "The Dean of our Geology Department is Dr. Gerald Hippocore. I've known him for years. He's a strong advocate of the meteor strike theory but aside from trace elements he's never found any solid evidence for it. If I can talk Buck into letting us come over to collect his specimen, Gerald is our best bet for confirming whether or not it's what Buck claims it is."

"But you're not going to tell him about us are you?" Linda asked quickly, broaching the question on all their minds.

"Of course not," Lawrence agreed reasonably. "And there's no need to. I'll just tell him that my being on TV gave Buck a name and face for someone to contact about his find. Which, in a way, is the truth," he mused.

"That's great," Nick enthused before anyone else could, "but could we get back to Tyrone not being able to take care of the vendors and such at the track? We kinda veered off the topic."

Judy elbowed him in the ribs. "It was a worthwhile detour, mammal O'mine."

He kissed the top of her head. "Yeah, but I still need to know." He looked at Tyrone.

The big tiger nodded. "Practice sessions," he explained. "If we're going to put on a concert, even a small one, we always need to practice. It takes hours every day. I can give you all my contact info, but you'll have to make the arrangements. I won't have time."

Gazelle nodded along with him. "I didn't get where I am by faking it," she said firmly. "It takes a lot of work."

"That's reasonable," Judy interjected. Her ears perked up. "And since your band is going to be there, can I make one request?"

Gazelle smiled sweetly at her. "Of course."

"Can they play 'Here Comes the Bride' for me?" she asked, suddenly feeling timid.

Gazelle's eyes widened then filled with sudden tears. "It would be an honor," she whispered, wiping at her cheeks.

"And for me too," Linda added with tears of her own.

Robert jerked. "Are you sure, babe?" he blinked in surprise. "Last night you said you weren't sure."

"I'm tired of hiding," she sniffled. "I'm so sick and tired of it I want to scream. They're getting married in public and it's only a matter of time until those comments on the message boards go viral so yes, let's get married and be done with it."

"Uh, what comments on what message boards?" Lawrence asked.

Robert compressed his lips with anger. "Some of our old _buddies_ from the Garlic & Clove Trucking Company saw us on TV at our 'conference' last week and started posting comments about us all over the social media boards. Then somebody else must have seen us at the diner and put two and two together. They're tying to out us. With all the publicity around the race track it's bound to happen sooner or later."

Judy pressed her paws over her mouth. "Oh sweet cheese and crackers!" She glanced around the room desperately. "We had no idea this would happen! I'm so sorry!"

"No!" Linda nearly shouted. "No. I told you, I'm tired of hiding. I'm tired of pretending we're freaks or unnatural or whatever else they say about us. I'm tired of it!" She sobbed into Robert's shoulder, then sat up wiping her eyes fiercely. "Whatever happens, happens, but I'm done hiding." She grabbed Robert's paw, clutching it tightly to her. "Robert is the love of my life and I want him to be my one and only husband forever and ever, and I want everyone to know it!" she finished firmly.

Judy saw Shelly dabbing at her eyes in response to Linda's ringing declaration. Gazelle was crying quietly in Tyrone's arms, his soothing whispers to her like the distant rumble of thunder. Nick's heart was beating strong and firm behind her, his arms around her like steel bands, holding and protecting her. She leaned forward to take Linda's hoof in her paw. "Then they will," she said quietly. "It'll be the best double wedding this city has ever seen."

Linda nodded gratefully, blinded by her tears. Judy's vision was blurred as well.

Nick pulled her back into his arms, dabbing at her cheeks with the tip of his tail. He waited until the ladies calmed down then cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

"How's this then; on Monday we'll call a press conference to let everyone know the first race will be a week from tomorrow, next Sunday, and that as a special surprise, Gazelle will be performing at the track before the opening race. How's that sound?" he asked.

They all nodded in unison.

"Good," he continued in a business-like tone of voice. "Tyrone can give me all his contact info on the vendors and such, and once word gets out that Gazelle is performing, they should be happy to work with us."

Tyrone cocked his head thoughtfully. "Most people outside the music business don't know it but I'm also Gazelle's business manager. During our press conference Monday I'll make a public request that all my vendors work with you. That should grease the skids for you."

Nick brightened. "Say, that'll help a lot. Thanks!"

Tyrone smiled. "My pleasure."

"And we'll ask Chief Bogo if he can do a double wedding," Judy added.

"If ole sour puss gives you any grief about it, tell him I said I'll come over there and flatten him if he doesn't," Tyrone smirked.

"Uh . . . nope," Judy said smartly. " _You_ tell him that. He was _your_ partner but he's _my_ boss."

Tyrone laughed, "Sure thing."

Lawrence and Shelly were whispering. He looked up at them. "Make it a triple," he said firmly. Instantly they were the focus of everyone's attention.

"You've decided then?" Gazelle asked.

They nodded. "We're tired of hiding too," Shelly answered for both of them. Lawrence nodded agreement. "Our tenure protects us from being fired and universities are usually a little more open to alternate life-styles than the average mammal on the street, _and_ , with three couples getting married all at once, it might dilute the overall impact on any one couple."

"Divide it between us, so to speak," Lawrence added.

"As well as going a long way toward normalizing it," Robert put in thoughtfully, his brow furrowed in scholarly concentration. "One predator-prey couple is a unique event that rocks the boat. Two is really unusual, but when you get to _three_ ," he shrugged, "it moves it into the category of 'rare but not unheard of'."

"What about four?" Gazelle asked suddenly.

Tyrone was immediately concerned. "Babe, are you sure? It could be the end of your career, everything you've worked for."

"We've got enough money to live on for the rest of our lives," she told him.

"I'm not talking about money and you know it," he countered quickly. "Singing is your life. It's the only thing you've ever wanted to do."

She bounced to her feet to pace around the room. "Being a cop was the only thing you ever wanted to do. You told me that early on, the second or third time we ever spoke. But you gave it up."

"To _gain_ something," he countered, rising to take her by the shoulders. "You." He gently tilted her head up to meet his eyes. "If you loose your singing, what would you be gaining to make it worthwhile?"

She smiled, looking deep into his eyes. "Oh Tyrone, don't you know? I can't loose my singing, I can sing whether anyone listens or not. It doesn't matter. As to what I'll gain?" Her smile deepened. "I'll gain the freedom to love you without having to hide it ever again. I'll gain _you_."

They saw the wind go out of his sails. It was a trump card and he knew it. "Four it is," he sighed, signaling defeat.

Gazelle snuggled against him. Her eyes twinkled at the rest of them. "Never thought you'd see the day when a gazelle could beat a tiger, did you?" she asked mischievously, enjoying her moment of triumph.

He growled something in her ear too low for them to hear. She turned bright red. "Don't you dare!" she exclaimed indignantly. He laughed. "Alright, so it's a tie," she amended, giving him a dirty look.

Nick looked around the room. "Well then, a week from tomorrow all of us will be out of the closet." He bounced to his feet, scooping up his wine glass. "A toast!" Everyone gathered around, glasses held high. "To new beginnings!"

 **For more of my writing, visit my web site**

 **Scribe of Texas (all one word, no spaces) period, then the letters c-o-m**


	10. Chapter 10

Zootopia

Racing on the Wilde Side

Chapter 10

"I want to thank all of you for coming down here so early," Mayor Lionheart said in his best politician's voice to the assembled reporters, and the growing crowd behind them. "As you can probably tell we've got some major announcements to make this morning." Gazelle and Tyrone stood behind him surrounded by a phalanx of uniformed cops to keep the mob at bay. Nick and Judy, sporting their new badges, stood just off to the side next to Chief Bogo.

"First things first," Lionheart continued smoothly. "We have an announcement from my good friend, Police Chief Bogo." He waved Bogo to the hastily positioned podium in front of City Hall.

"Good friend?" Nick whispered sarcastically to Judy out of the side of his mouth.

"Shh!" she hissed back, fighting to keep a straight face.

"Thank you, Mister Mayor," Bogo was saying. "As you know, Officers Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde," he waved at them, "have provided indispensable services to Zootopia over the last several months, including the near-capture of Doug Ramses last week. As a result of their efforts the Mayor and I have jointly decided to make their temporary promotion to Detective a permanent promotion."

Startled applause broke out then swelled to a thunderous roar of approval. Bogo and Lionheart motioned them forward to the edge of the stairs. The crowd hooted and hollered, stomping their feet in unison. "Wilde Hopps! Wilde Hopps! Wilde Hopps!" they chanted.

Judy was round-eyed with wonder at the uproarious ovation. Nick couldn't stop himself from grinning ear-to-ear, wondering what those idiots who'd kicked him out of the Junior Ranger Scouts thought about him _now_? He grabbed Judy's paw and held it up like a winning boxer in the ring. The crowd grew even noisier.

Nick risked a backward glance at Tyrone and Gazelle as the crowd seemed determined to keep clapping forever. Behind the officers surrounding them, where no one could see, they were holding each other's paws so tightly he was afraid they were going to cut off the circulation. Gazelle was misty-eyed at the sustained reaction to two of Zootopia's finest, and Tyrone, who caught him looking, gave him a covert thumbs-up.

Lionheart finally moved to quiet the crowd. "Well, I'll take that as a _vote_ of approval," he quipped. Chuckles rippled through the gathered mammals, finally subduing their ovation. "Just don't run against me," he admonished them jokingly.

Nick and Judy laughed dutifully, but she couldn't help remembering his comment about politics caring about them and wondered just how much of a joke it really was?

"And now," the Mayor continued as the laughter and applause died away, "our two newest Detectives have a report for you on the status of the Wilde-Hopps Race Track." He stepped back. "Detectives?"

Nick and Judy bounded up the built-in steps on the back of the podium to another round of applause. He nodded for her to go first. She nodded back then help up her paws for silence. The crowd settled down quickly.

"Thank you," she smiled brilliantly at them. "But Mayor Lionheart and Chief Bogo really deserve your thanks for creating the Mammal Inclusion Initiative, and the tough training regime that made our service possible. Without them we'd never have been police officers in the first place, or had the skills to accomplish everything we have." She turned to face them. "Mayor Lionheart and Police Chief Bogo!" she said brightly, clapping for them.

Nick immediately joined her, prompting the rest of the crowd to follow suit. Lionheart and Bogo smiled and bowed for the cameras. "Sly bunny," Nick whispered.

She grinned. "You know you love me," she replied impertinently, making sure the microphone couldn't pick them up.

The applause was dying away too quickly for him to respond but both of them heard him say it in their mind's eye, " _Do I know that? Yes, yes I do_."

She inclined her head for him to take it from there. "We're pleased to announce that the track is nearly complete and the first race is scheduled to start at 11:00am this coming Sunday morning," he announced in ringing tones.

The assembled street racers, huddled together off to one side burst into wild applause, jumping up and down with unrestrained glee. Even Flash was moving faster than normal, he was so excited. The cameras immediately swung away from the podium to capture their jubilation.

Nick waited until the excitement was dying away to continue. "We're still waiting on some vendors to deliver what they promised us for the concession stands and such but everything is ready to go. There will also be some pre-race entertainment, events, and announcements beginning 8:30 so be sure to get there early before all the best seats are gone. And . . ." he paused for dramatic effect, ". . . part of the entertainment will be someone you all know and love . . . Gazelle!"

A roar burst from the growing crowd as Gazelle and Tyrone made their way to the podium. He handed her forward then stepped back. Nick and Judy gracefully made way for her too.

"Thank you, Zootopia," she said in her famously recognizable voice. "Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you." She had to keep saying it for nearly a full minute before they finally settled down enough for her to speak.

"After Nick and Judy – forgive me – Detective Wilde and Detective Hopps, approached me last week about using my land for a race track I was surprised at how much attention it gathered. Even after the professors explained the extent of the biological problem we seem to be facing it took a few days for it sink in. I love Zootopia, and I want to do everything I can to help it overcome whatever it faces. So, I'm putting on a pre-race concert next Sunday to raise awareness and help bring peace to our beautiful city."

Flashbulbs were going off like strobe lights, but her announcement pushed them into overtime. It was like an explosion of chain lightning in every direction.

Tyrone stepped up beside her. Leaning over her he spoke directly into the microphone, " _And_ we expect all of our usual vendors to work with Detective Wilde and Detective Hopps as if they were us . . . if you want to keep our business." He favored them with a fang-filled grin that sent chills down the backs of everyone there.

Gazelle smiled indulgently. "You'll have to forgive my lead dancer," she told them. "He used to be a cop and he takes things _SO_ seriously sometimes." It was a thinly veiled threat without much veil to it. She patted Tyrone's arm and he backed away like one of Mister Big's muscle bound bears.

Judy had to use all her willpower to keep from bursting out laughing. Beside her she could tell Nick was fighting the same battle. Even though they'd known what was coming, Gazelle and Tyrone were so over-the-top it was hard to keep a straight face.

Gazelle smiled and posed for the cameras for a moment, then bent over to air kiss Judy and Nick before allowing Tyrone and the police to whisk her away.

Judy reclaimed the microphone before Lionheart could grab it and steal the show. "Be sure to get your tickets right away!" she chirped brightly. "Like she said, it's for a good cause!"

"What time does her concert start?" a pig in the front row yelled, thrusting his microphone up in the air like a lance.

"Does Gazelle's concert start before the race?" Judy responded smoothly. "Yes, yes it does." Beside her she could hear Nick's heart thumping wildly as he fought to contain his amusement. "We open at 8:00 so don't be late," she finished in a child's sing-song voice. She waved gaily then skipped down from the podium, Nick hard on her heels, wheezing from the struggle to hold in his laughter.

Lionheart cast a jaundiced eye on her as he passed her on his way to the podium. "And there you have it," he exclaimed in his buttery smooth tenor. "Gates open at 8:00, race at 11:00 and Gazelle in-between. What's not to like?" He gave them a politician's wave then strode away importantly. He pointedly didn't meet Nick and Judy's eyes.

Bogo didn't have that luxury so he just sighed in tired resignation. "And here I thought Nick was the one I was going to have to worry about," he muttered to Judy as they made their way inside. He shook his head and held up a quick paw to forestall anything she had to say. "Just get the thing finished before the next big crisis hits us." He stalked away. "And find Bellwether and Ramses!" he tossed over his shoulder.

"Yes sir!" they answered in unison, then grinned at each other.

They had to use the service tunnel between City Hall and the Police Station to avoid the surging crowds outside. Once back in the station they were mobbed by their fellow officers congratulating them on their promotions.

Rhinowitz pulled them into the bullpen where cake, ice cream, drinks, and a huge card waited for them. Everyone had signed it, usually along with some bit of "wisdom" or off-color joke. It was all good clean fun and they reveled in it for as long as they could before heading upstairs, each of them toting a paper plate with the last of the cake and ice cream on it.

Captain Tongas had assigned them a new, permanent office one door over from their old office. Instead of 6N they were now in 7N. He explained that the even numbered offices were the small ones and the odd numbers ones were the large ones.

Nick popped it open and peered inside. The layout was the same. It had a couple extra feet in each direction so technically it was larger, but not by much. Most of the added space was occupied by filing cabinets. Judy shrugged at it.

"Oh well, every little bit helps," she said optimistically, trying to put a good spin on it. "Let's move our stuff over from the old one."

They didn't have much "stuff" to move so it didn't take long. While she rearranged her new desk Nick was already on the phone to their problem vendors. Tyrone's comments at the press conference must have been magic because in no time he had assurances from all of them that everything would be taken care of ahead of schedule.

Their new office had a small sofa table, longer than it was wide, pushed up against the sides of their two desks, which were facing each other just like in their first office. The _super villain_ file was sitting in the middle of it where they'd dropped it. There were some stools under the sofa table. She pulled one out and hopped up to thumb through the voluminous file.

A few minutes later Nick joined her. "Anything interesting?"

Judy smiled, enjoying his nearness then shrugged. "Yes and no. A lot of dates and addresses, pretty dry stuff. I'm trying to find the names of the mammals Bellwether hired or moved around while she was the Mayor or Assistant Mayor."

Nick nodded his understanding. "We need to talk to 'em, _individually_ ," he stressed.

"And we can play good cop/bad cop," Judy giggled with anticipation. Her eyes flashed with excitement as she found the list of names. "Here it is!"

They bent to examine it together.

Nick let out a long whistle after only a few moments. "She wasn't kidding around was she?" There was page after page of transfers and new hires, starting almost from the moment she and Lionheart were elected together. Lionheart's habit of shoving all his work off onto her had given her near carte blanché to reshape the city's work force to her own specifications.

"I wonder how many of these he ever saw, or read if he did see them?" Judy wondered, shaking her head at Bellwether's thoroughness. The only department she hadn't completely reshaped was the ZPD, but only because Bogo had pushed back thinking it was his nemesis' idea.

Nick had pulled some of the forms out to examine them more closely. "Do these look like the same signature?" he asked her, pointing at Lionheart's signature on two transfer orders. One was from early in his administration, the other was nearly two years later.

Judy could tell at a glance they weren't the same. They were similar enough to fool the casual observer but their training at the Academy had covered forgeries, teaching them how to spot the little tell-tale give-aways that revealed a fake. She pursed her lips at the date on the second one; it was nearly a year before she'd gone to the Academy. "She's been forging his signature for a long time." She fanned the endless pages of transfers and hiring forms. "Nick! There's hundreds of them!"

"It's more than that," he countered. "Look at this." He shoved a form at her.

It was a form CBC-23 declaring a mammal's intent to run for city office and agreeing to a thorough background check. Before their name could be put on the ballet the Chief of Police or the Mayor had to sign it verifying that a criminal background check had been run on the candidate. "Bellwether signed it," she muttered in disgust.

"Yeah," he agreed, "but look at the candidate's name." He reached across her arm to point to the name at the top.

"Elmer Fudge," she gasped. "That's the city Councilor who gave Lionheart a hard time before we went to see Gazelle and Tyrone the first time."

"Yep. Looks like Bellwether was trying to stack the City Council," he said ominously.

Judy felt herself getting angry. "This is as much Lionheart's fault as it is hers," she growled. "If he'd done his job instead of shoving it off on her, none of this would have happened." She looked at the mountain of forms stacked up in the file. "I wonder what else we're going to find it there?"

Nick shook his head. "I don't know, Carrots but I don't think we're gonna like it."

His words were prophetic. By lunchtime they'd found dozens of suspicious applications, transfers, and orders, so much so that their stack of "investigate at once" forms was three times the height of their "get to 'em later" ones. Bellwether had also forged Lionheart's signature on all kinds of executive orders, regulatory notices, and court documents. As far as they could tell the Mammal Inclusion Initiative was literally the only thing Lionheart had actually signed in nearly three years.

After discussing it they'd gone to Bogo to give him an overview of what they'd found. His expression, never a happy one, had gotten progressively worse as he listened. He slammed a fist on his desk. "That idiot!" he snarled. "I always knew he was spending too much time out of the office on public relations and photo ops but I had no idea it was this bad. Bellwether was practically the Mayor before she was the Mayor!"

Judy jumped a little but by now she was getting used to his temper tantrums. Besides, she agreed with him on this one. "And there's _hundreds_ of them," she sniffed, waving a fist full of papers. "We're going to have to go through every one of them to figure out what she did, who can be trusted, who can't, and how to fix it."

"In the meantime we have to assume some of them, maybe most of them, are spying for her," Nick added, "telling her everything we do."

Judy's ears were drooping. "What's worse, we have to assume some of them will be trying to undermine us and reverse any gains we make."

Bogo came to an abrupt decision. He punched a button on his phone. "Clawhauser!"

The friendly cheetah came on. "Yeah Chief?"

"Get me Mayor Lionheart!"

"Right away," he said cheerfully, ignoring Bogo's tone.

Bogo lapsed into silence waiting for the Mayor. Judy could hear the clock ticking on the wall. It seemed like forever, but eventually the phone buzzed. Bogo stabbed the button. "Chief Bogo."

"What do you want?" Lionheart asked without bothering with introductions.

"Our newest detectives have uncovered some disturbing news about Bellwether," Bogo told him. "But we can't discuss it on the phone. Dinner tonight at Giordano's. 6 o'clock."

Lionheart hesitated. "That bad?"

"Don't be late," Bogo advised him.

"6 o'clock," the Mayor agreed reluctantly.

Nick and Judy exchanged glances. Giordano's was a pizzeria in Tundratown. Mister Big was fond of it. The Mayor's response indicated he and Bogo had eaten there before.

"A lot of mob figures eat there," Nick said cautiously after Bogo hung up.

"I know," Bogo nodded, "but it's one of the few places Bellwether and her cohorts would never go. Sheep aren't exactly welcome there."

"Neither are cops," Judy ventured.

"I won't wear my uniform," Bogo answered, "and the two of you keep your badges out of sight," he added, nodding at their badges dangling from their coat pockets. After a brief pause to collect his thoughts he continued. "Collect as much info as you can before tonight, especially things like this," he tapped Fudge's CBC form, "and bring it with you. I want to beat Lionheart over the head with it."

They nodded and slipped out as fast as they could.

After a hurried lunch they snuck back into their offices, tiptoeing past Bogo's office. Once behind their locked office door Judy let out a _whuff!_ of relief. "I thought Bogo and Lionheart had patched things up between them," she exclaimed.

Nick nodded. "You and me both, Carrots, but I guess the patch didn't hold," he shrugged.

She grimaced at his feeble attempt at humor and tossed a stack of papers at him. "Come on, let's see what else we can find."

Hours later they were still at it when the alarm on her phone went off, reminding them to head for Giordano's. She straightened her back with a groan. "This isn't nearly as much fun as chasing bad guys," she mumbled, massaging her back.

He nodded, twisting from side-to-side to stretch his own back. A sparkle blossomed in his eyes. "Want me to massage it for you, Fluff?" He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Her ears perked up hearing his heartbeat change, but she shook her paw at him. "Nick."

"I'll be good," he promised teasingly.

"That's what I'm afraid of," she teased back in the same voice. A sudden whiff of pheromones filled the office.

"Oooh, good one, Bright Eyes," he grinned roguishly. "And you're right to be afraid. I am good, _very_ good."

Her eyes were as eager as his but she still backed away. "It's only six days until the wedding," she reminded him. "We can wait until then." Her pheromones surged as her ears wiggled enticingly. "And I promise, it _will_ be worth it."

She hear his heart skip a beat. "Alright," he conceded. He glanced at the clock. "Besides, I guess we need to get going if we're going to make it Giordano's on time."

They let themselves indulge in some more lighthearted teasing during the short drive to Tundratown, and a quick kiss in the darkness of Giordano's parking lot. By the time they made it inside both their hearts were pounding like trip hammers.

Giordano's dimly lit interior had mottled stone tiles on the floor surrounded by golden brown walls and brick arches. Tables covered by red-and-white table clothes were spaced in even rows, comfortably far enough apart to prevent overhearing your neighbor's conversation. Candlelit alcoves provided extra privacy for those who needed it.

A grayish-white ibex with long sweeping horns, a fancy towel draped over his arm, bowed as they came in. "Welcome to Giordano's Pizzeria," he said with an exaggerated accent. He lowered his voice. "Hopps and Wilde?"

They nodded.

"This way," he urged them. He led them through the busy main dining room, through a small bricked archway into a smaller dining room. In here every table had a private alcove for maximum privacy. In the back corner Bogo and Lionheart were sitting on opposite side of the furthermost table.

Halfway back Nick saw Mister Big sitting at his usual table, surrounded by his bears and Family members. They were loud and jovial. Mister Big didn't appear to notice them but he was sure that was just an act. He didn't get to be the biggest crime boss in Tundratown by missing important details. Judy saw him too.

The waiter sat them at their table. Rich red wine had already been poured for them. "Dinner will be served shortly," the waiter said. He turned and vanished before Judy could try to place her order.

"I took the liberty of ordering for all of us," Lionheart told her before she could protest. "It seemed easier that way."

An awkward silence descended, punctuated by an occasional burst of laughter from Mister Big's table. After one outburst Nick said, "Do you know who's at that table?"

Bogo tried to smile but it looked more like a grimace. "Of course we do. We're ignoring each other." He glanced sideways at Lionheart. "It seemed easier that way."

The Mayor took the jab with good grace. "Now perhaps you can tell me what I'm doing here?"

The waiter returned with a tray of spicy steaming food. He set pasta, pizza, and a loaf of fresh bread, hot from the oven, on the table. There was a seafood salad for each of them and a small plate with four cannolis for dessert. He turned and left as quickly as he'd arrived.

They dug in with relish.

As they settled down to eat, Bogo launched in a speech that felt rehearsed. "When my father was Mayor he got careless and started letting his secretary handle all the day-to-day affairs he thought were too boring to be bothered with. That's how the disaster with the McDonald farm happened; his secretary had an old family grudge against the McDonald's and used my father's inattentiveness to influence where the train track would go, cutting his farm in half." He paused to swallow a huge bite of pizza. "She got her revenge and my father was blamed for it. That's how you beat him when you ran against him."

Lionheart's eyes narrowed. "So?"

"You had the same problem with Bellwether, and they have the proof of it," he nodded at Nick and Judy.

The Mayor gave them a cautious examination. "Sometimes I wonder if my Mammal Inclusion Initiative was worth it after all," he sighed. "Are you going to arrest me again?" he asked curiously.

Judy shook her head. "You didn't do anything illegal, Mister Mayor, just extremely careless."

"And Bellwether took advantage of it to do a lot more than putting three friends to work at the prison," Nick added. He pulled out the winnowed down file they'd brought with them.

Judy flipped it open, turning it for him to see. "We spend all day going through the records and found close to four hundred mammals Bellwether either reassigned or hired by forging your signature on the orders."

Lionheart sat up with a jerk. "What?!"

She allowed herself a saccharine smile. "And twenty seven executive orders, fourteen court filings on behalf of the city, and dozens of questionable regulations."

Lionheart's eyes were getting wider and wider as he pawed through the pages listening to her recitation.

"Plus the criminal background check she signed off on for Councilor Fudge when he was running for office," Nick added with malicious glee.

"Fudge?!" Lionheart exploded.

Judy's hearing, always preternaturally sharp, picked up on the complete lack of sound coming from Mister Big's table. The only thing she could hear was their breathing. She knew he had some mammals on his staff whose hearing was almost as good as hers. "Keep it down," she hissed worriedly. His granddaughter might be named after her but she didn't entertain any illusions about him; he was still a crime boss. She didn't want to give him any ammunition he could use against Zootopia.

But the Mayor wasn't cooperating. "What about Fudge?" he roared.

Nick rolled his eyes. "Hey Fur Face! Why don't you tell the whole world we're here?" he snapped irritably. "Sheesh!"

Lionheart swelled up to deliver an angry blast but his better judgment got the best of him. He deflated and nodded. "Fine. But what about Fudge?"

"He had to fill out a form CBC-23, Zootopia Criminal Background Check 23, required for all candidates running for public office," Judy answered. "The results don't keep anyone from running, but if anything embarrassing shows up the other side can use it against them." She pulled out a separate folder and shoved it across the table. "Fudge owes nearly seven years worth of back taxes on his five apartment complexes. He's even further behind on repairs, maintenance and upkeep, not to mention half-a-dozen court actions against him for being a slum lord; but all of that was swept under the rug when Bellwether forged your signature on his CBC-23 then issued an executive order – under your name – to seal all his records."

"We had to get Chief Bogo to order the IT clerks to let us access the records," Nick finished. Bogo nodded confirmation. "They were trying to keep us from looking at them." Then he added as if it had just occurred to him, "They were hired by Bellwether too."

Lionheart was aghast. "Fudge has been the number one thorn in my paw since the day he was elected. If I'd known all this we could have used it against him in the campaign. It probably would have been enough to keep him out of office," he said meditatively, calming down a bit. "He barely squeaked by as it was."

Judy held up a tentative paw.

He smiled with faint amusement. "What?"

"Based on what we found, we have reason to believe Bellwether may have rigged the vote as well," she said timidly, not wanting to trigger another outburst.

He froze. They could see him gritting his teeth. He exhaled sharply and sat back. "I see."

They all relaxed. Bogo sat forward though. "I don't think you do," he said forcefully. "You're making all the same mistakes my father did, and it's going to get you thrown out of office the same as him – unless you find a way to fix all these problems."

"We can't catch Bellwether and Ramses while all these mammals are still working for the city," Judy pressed him. "At first we thought we could handle it but the more we found the more we realized it has to be you. Any one of them, or most of them, could be spies, telling her everything we do. We're cops, y _ou're_ the politician; you're the only one who can handle it."

Nick sat forward too. "Once you get rid of the spies we can do _our_ stuff, and put Bellwether and Ramses behind bars for good."

Lionheart's eyes went past them in surprise.

"You should listen to them, Mister Mayor," a familiar voice rasped from behind them. "These two are some sharp cookies."

Nick and Judy turned resignedly. Sure enough, there was a giant bear holding a tiny chair with Mister Big sitting in it. Behind him the room was dead silent; a partition had been put in place to cut them off from the rest of the restaurant.

The Mayor gave the crime boss a hard stare. "Since when do you want to help the city?"

Mister Big wasn't offended. "You misunderstand me. I'm a businessman. Whether you agree with my business or not, that's what I am. And strange as it may sound, law-and-order is good for business." He gave them a toothy smile.

Lionheart wasn't budging. "So?"

"So Dawn Bellwether was trying to start a war between predators and prey. Maybe she still is. Wars are definitely bad for business," he shrugged, "especially when most of my 'associates' are in the predator class she wants to destroy. I'm just looking out for my business interests."

"I see," Lionheart mused, unbending slightly. Bogo however was sitting ramrod straight in his chair, refusing to be drawn into a conversation with a criminal. "But how do you know Detectives Hopps and Wilde are _sharp cookies_?"

"We ran into each other during the savage mammal case. My driver was one of the mammals affected by Ramses' serum. I'm grateful to them for his return to health," he smiled benignly. He tapped the paw of the bear holding his chair. He looked at Nick and Judy as the bear began turning to leave. "Anything I find out I'll have it forwarded to you."

They waved at him. Turning back to the table they found themselves on the receiving end of equally hard stares coming from both Bogo and Lionheart.

"Consorting with known criminals is _not_ acceptable behavior in the ZPD," Bogo gritted.

"But keeping snitches on the line is," Nick countered lightly, as if he didn't have a care in the world. "Tyrone said the two of you worked Vice for several years. Didn't you have any informants you used?" Judy smothered a grin at his quick thinking.

Bogo paused to consider it. "Snitches and mob bosses are two different things. You're walking a fine line," he warned darkly.

Nick shrugged. "I've got good balance."

Judy touched his arm. "Nick." Confidence was one thing but being cocky could get them fired in hurry.

He deflated a bit. "Alright. Sorry, Chief."

A light suddenly went on in Lionheart's eyes as he watched their little by-play. "Holy scratching post!" he swore in surprise. "You two are in love!" Another light went on in his gaze. "No wonder you were so interested in Mar's diary!"

"Uh . . ." Always so quick with a verbal riposte, Nick felt flatfooted when someone discovered their predator-prey romance.

The Mayor waved it off. "No need for the deer in the headlights look, it's no skin off my nose," he rumbled easily, "but it does explain a lot about you two." Judy let herself relax as she realized he wasn't disgusted by them. He glanced at Bogo. "You don't seem surprised," he noted.

The chief shrugged, reaching for a cannoli since it was obvious the stressful part of the evening was over. "I've known for a while. Besides, they're not the first predator-prey couple I've run into," he said around a mouthful of the delightful pastry. "As long as they do their job, what do I care?"

The Mayor grabbed a cannoli as well. "Very open minded of you," he approved.

Bogo shrugged his massive shoulders. "If we could ever stop being enemies you'd find out I'm not the sourpuss you think I am."

Lionheart took his time answering as he savored his cannoli. "I didn't think we were enemies, I just thought we didn't like each other very much."

"What's the difference?"

The Mayor shrugged. "Good point." Nick and Judy watched in amazement. Lionheart saw them. "If you don't eat those cannolis I will," he threatened mockingly.

They snatched them up.

 **For more of my writing, visit my web site**

 **Scribe of Texas (all one word, no spaces) period, then the letters c-o-m**


	11. Chapter 11

Zootopia

Racing on the Wilde Side

Chapter 11

It had been a crazy week, Judy reflected as she let Nick unpack their dinner, fresh from the Hoof & Claw. Robert and Linda had ruthlessly closed the diner early tonight since Sunday was guaranteed to be a madhouse tomorrow. But they'd been kind enough to bring enough food for a small army.

Once again they were gathered in Tyrone and Gazelle's sumptuous apartment in the Horn Spire building. Judy's nose twitched as she smelled fresh pecan pie being unpacked. "Ooh, I want dessert first," she purred, stretching her tired, aching back.

Tyrone laughed gently at her. "There is the sound of a tired mammal wanting comfort food," he observed. She nodded as he continued, "Well I for one am in perfect agreement. I love Gazelle with all my heart, but when we're practicing for a concert she's practically a slave driver." He windmilled his arms. "Every muscle in my body is sore."

"Bogo told us you loved dancing," Nick quipped, balancing two plates loaded with food. He carefully gave one to Judy before sitting down beside her.

"Ole sourpuss better keep his opinions to himself," Tyrone returned darkly. "Dancing for fun is one thing; dancing for a living is _work!_ "

"If you've been on your feet as much as I have this week then I sympathize with you," Linda said, tucking hers under her as she sat down next to Robert. "I'm glad for the extra money we're making but my feet are killing me."

"It's been a crazy week for all of us," Lawrence added around a huge mouthful of an FLT sandwich he was making short work of. "Thanks to Gazelle the press has been hounding Shelly and I non-stop for interviews about future 'biological problems'." He shook his head at her.

Gazelle had the grace to look embarrassed. "It was not my intention to do that to you," she assured them. "After all we've been through with the press I would never sic them on someone else – not on purpose."

"I believe you," Shelly assured her gently, "but its been crazy. I don't know how you've put up with them all these years."

Gazelle snuggled up in Tyrone's arms, her plate held daintily before her. "It hasn't been easy," she answered seriously. "I wanted to succeed in this business, and you hear all the stories about what the press is like if you make it and you think you can handle it, but actually experiencing it is still something of a shock."

"Speaking of the Fourth Estate, what's with all the stuff in the papers about Lionheart?" Robert interjected. "Where'd all that come from all the sudden?"

"He brought most of it on himself," Judy responded primly. Earlier in the week they'd told everyone about Lionheart's inattentiveness to business, allowing Bellwether to run roughshod over the city. "He's finally starting to act like the Mayor and all those bureaucrats don't like it. They had a good thing going with Bellwether; cushy jobs, easy money, and no one to answer to. He's trying to change all that so naturally they're fighting back."

"But is it true?" Linda wondered. "I mean, some of the things they're saying . . ." She trailed off uncertainly.

Judy shrugged. "Probably not but I don't care. He's getting what he deserves for letting Bellwether run loose for so long. Being Mayor is _his_ job, it's time he started doing it."

"Has anyone ever told you you sound like Bogo?" Tyrone asked her.

She and Nick both chuckled. "Oh, just a time or two," he joked. "And Bogo thinks it's a complement!"

Tyrone nodded in amusement. "He would."

Lawrence cleared his throat. "Speaking of the Chief, is he ready for tomorrow?" The room grew quiet. "Performing a wedding for three predator-prey couples is definitely going to put him on some mammal's hit list, you know. If they don't like us getting married they're not going to like him for agreeing to do it."

"There's still a lot of prejudice out there," Robert agreed. "We closed early tonight because our business dried up after the press ran that story about us this morning." There was quiet anger in his voice. The newspaper and all the television stations had headlined a story about Robert and Linda's relationship, quoting sources from Garlic and Clove Trucking as well as local farmers who frequented their diner. The reporters acted like it was the juiciest story of all time, using lurid prose better suited to checkout counter magazines touting three-headed babies than serious reporting.

Judy heard Nick's heart skip a beat as the deadline for their own "outing" in the form of their marriage now loomed huge and immense before them, barely twelve hours away. Her ears flattened against her head and she saw the others having similar reactions.

"Fear will keep us trapped forever," Nick said, for once being dead serious without any hint of sarcasm or joking. "No offense to you guys," he nodded at Tyrone and Gazelle, "but I don't want to spend the next 20 years hiding how much I love Judy." His paws balled up into fists. "And if the world doesn't like it, bring 'em on!" he finished with a snarl.

"Nick." Judy touched his arm gently.

He relaxed a bit. "Sorry, Angel Face, I can't help the way I feel."

She smiled up at him. "I know, and you wouldn't be you if you didn't, but let's not pick a fight unless we don't have a choice."

"And speaking of choices, how's it coming with our escape hatch choice?" Lawrence put in, trying to ease the tension. By common consent they'd begun calling Nick's plan to divide the money from the ticket sales and concession stand revenue among them, their "escape hatch" if the public turned against them.

Nick perked up. Talking about money always excited him. "Better than I expected," he exclaimed brightly, glad for the change in topic. "Just on what we've got so far, we'll be able to live without needing any income – at all – for nearly two years. And the concession stands tomorrow should bring in even more."

Everyone was surprised. Tyrone and Gazelle didn't need any money from their project. They already had enough to last the rest of their lives so they'd offered their share back to the other three couples. It made for quite the nest egg for them.

"By the way," Nick continued, "that two years is _after_ paying taxes! Someone once told me not paying your taxes is a felony." He added, with a sly sideways look at Judy. She smothered a giggle with her paws. The rest, sensing some kind of private joke, just shrugged.

Lawrence was thoughtful. "So if we get fired – or go out of business . . ." he inclined his head at Robert and Linda, ". . . we'll be in good shape for at least two years?"

"'at's 'ight," Nick mumbled around a mouthful of fish, lettuce, and tomato sandwich. He swallowed. "Of course, that doesn't help with the _attitudes_ we might encounter, but at least we won't starve."

Judy glanced at the clock. "Tomorrow's going to be a busy day, we all ought to get to bed," she advised like a spinster school marm.

Tyrone shook his head. "You sound _way_ too much like ole sourpuss," he growled without realizing how much of a sourpuss he sounded like when he said it. Everyone burst out laughing. "What?" He looked around in confusion, which only made them laugh harder. "What?!"

Gazelle stroked his ears softly. "I'll explain it to you later, babe," she teased.

"One last thing before we go," Lawrence interjected. The ones who'd started getting up sat back down. "It's been a week-and-a-half since Dr. Hippocore and I got the meteor from Buck and he's been running test after test on it. He's in hog heaven," he chuckled. "And he's come up with something."

Their ears perked up.

"As far as he can tell, every test he's run, all point to the same conclusion . . ." He paused dramatically, scanning their faces as they leaned forward expectantly. "It _is_ the meteor that crashed here 2000 years ago!"

They exploded in a hubbub.

"Oh my goodness!"

"Sweet cheese and crackers!"

"That's amazing!"

"But HOW?" Nick yelled over them. They quieted down a bit. "How can he tell for sure?"

All eyes turned to Lawrence. "I don't have time to go into all the details of the tests but rest assured, they're _very_ rigorous. But the main one, the real turning point was his discovery of copious quantities of the unusual trace minerals found all over the world in the layer that's 2000 years old. He found enough to allow him to run some tests on them as well, and it turns out they have mutagenic properties."

"Ah, muta- _what_ properties?" Linda asked in puzzlement.

"Mutagenic," Sally answered softly. "It means they cause mutations in developing embryos."

There was a collective gasp in the room.

Gazelle sat bolt upright. "Mutations that could have changed us?" she pressed, asking the question that was on everyone's mind.

Shelly and Lawrence nodded in tandem. "More than enough," he answered gravely. "Now mind you," he said, holding up a restraining paw, "all this still has to be verified at other labs in the country before we're sure, but as it stands right now, it looks like we've found the source of our change from wild savages to the walking, talking, civilized mammals we've become."

"And . . ." Shelly added before they could all start talking at once, "Gerald, Doctor Hippocore, sent the samples out to four different universities earlier this week. We should have confirmation very soon."

"Would it also confirm Lance's _thrill of the hunt_ theory?" Nick asked quickly.

Shelly and Lawrence exchanged a worried look. "It doesn't confirm it biologically," she replied slowly in a professor's careful wording, "but logically speaking, yes, it would lend considerable weight to it. If we're the result of recent, _induced_ mutations, it stands to reason our instincts haven't change all that much." She worried her bottom lip. "We basically the same animals our ancestors were but with intelligence added on top."

"Which would render us susceptible to becoming addicted to adrenaline producing activities," Lawrence continued for her. "Adrenaline produces the old _fight-or-flight_ reflex in us and any kind of thrill seeking activity like racing . . . or chasing suspects," he nodded at cops in the room, "would produce lots of it."

"And our predator-prey relationships?" Judy asked cautiously.

"Definitely," Shelly nodded. "A common mutagen would tend to produce the same results in everyone exposed to it. That's why our diets are all essentially the same now, and why predators, without exception, report revulsion akin to cannibalism at the thought of eating prey mammals. A common mutagen would produce common DNA in all the subjects, hence the feelings of cannibalism."

"That's fine," Robert told her, "but it doesn't answer Judy's question."

"Not directly," she admitted, "but it does _in_ directly."

"How so?" Judy wondered curiously.

Shelly was in total "professor" mode, pacing slowly back and forth as she spoke. "Common changes in DNA, intelligence, and diet, coupled with feelings of revulsion at eating each other don't lead to predator-prey romances, but they leave the door to it wide open by removing all the old barriers against it. With those obstacles gone, it's just a matter of time until it happens."

"Like playing the odds?" Tyrone asked.

"Crude, but accurate," she conceded. "The right mammals meet at the right time and boom!" She threw her arms wide. "It happens."

"So why all the life-and-death stuff?" Gazelle wanted to know. "Why did we have to go through that?" The rest of them nodded.

Shelly shrugged. "We don't know."

"We're still working on that aspect of it," Lawrence added. "We know _what_ , we just don't know _why_. Physical changes are relatively easy to track but mental and emotional ones are a lot harder. It can get pretty murky," he finished.

There was more discussion along the same lines which went nowhere so very soon they were filing out the door, hugging each other as they went. Nick and Judy spent a few extra minutes in the tunnel with Robert and Linda, comforting them over their early outing by the press, then left for their apartments.

Nick paused at Judy's door. "It doesn't seem fair to you not to get a honeymoon," he told her after a spine tingling kiss. Bogo had advised them that until they were able to judge the public's reaction to their marriage it would probably be safest for them to go to work every day for a while. Once they knew which way the wind was blowing they'd be able to decide whether or not to take some time off for an official honeymoon. "Every bride should have a honeymoon in some exotic place."

Judy caressed the side of his face. "A tin shack would be exotic if it was with you," she whispered against his lips. She gave him another lingering kiss that sent shivers down her spine, and made his heart race like a sports car. His fur stood up and laid down in ripples across his body. "I'll see you at the altar," she said, slipping through the door.

He shook himself back to reality. "See you," he grinned. "Don't forget to set your alarm clock!"

She waved him. "Now who sounds like Bogo?" she taunted as she closed the door.

But it was a good reminder. They had to get up earlier than normal to get everything done. When her alarm went off the next morning Judy wanted nothing more than to hit snooze and roll over but she forced herself out of bed. A quick peek out the window confirmed it was, as Nick put it, _O dark thirty_ out there.

After showering and dressing she slam-dunked her breakfast. She heard Nick coming down the hall as she opened her front door. After a quick kiss he held the door for her as she brought out the long white wedding dress Fru-Fru had helped her pick out. She held it carefully to keep it from dragging on the ground.

"You're gonna look like a million bucks in that," Nick whistled appreciatively, seeing it for the first time. He leered and gave her a wolfish howl.

A delighted smile split her face. "And it's all for you, mammal O'mine," she assured him.

"As long as you don't mind me tearing it off you tonight," he grinned, pressing the buttons on the elevator to take them down to the garage. Her pheromones were already flooding the tiny space.

"Don't you dare!" she mock scolded him. "Unless I can do the same thing to your tux," she added in a sultry tone. She heard his heart shift into high gear and knew he was only moments away from taking her right there and then. The elevator doors opened just then and she ran out before their growing passion could get the better of them. He followed her, growling in frustration.

"Just a few hours more," she comforted him, wondering who she was really talking to. Her own desires for him had been peaking lately, driving her to distraction when they were together, which was practically all the time.

They hung her dress behind the seat, safe in it's flimsy plastic protection then headed for the station. They'd agreed that Judy would drive their cruiser while Nick took the truck. Their office was stacked with supplies for opening race, including the winner's trophy and he could load it up while she headed out to the track.

After making sure the parking garage was empty she quickly transferred her wedding dress from the truck to the cruise, kissed him briefly then took off.

She made good time driving through the sleeping city since the traffic lights were still blinking yellow. She only had to slow down once to let a lonely garbage truck go by. The Hoof & Claw was on the way to the track; as she came up she saw the lights on and a few cars, mostly pickups, in the parking lot. She still had some time on her paws and decided to stop in for a minute to get some coffee and check on Robert and Linda.

The doorbell jangled as she went in. Linda looked up. A smiled flooded her face when she saw who it was. Aside from a few local farmers, the place was empty. She hurried over to embrace Judy. "Good morning!" she chirped brightly.

Judy hugged her back. "Good morning yourself," she returned. She nodded at the farmers, gathered around one of the larger round tables, "It looks like the regulars haven't abandoned you."

"Nope," Linda laughed. "Country folk are more laid back than you'd think. As long as you don't push anything on 'em, they're willing to live and let live." Robert rang the bell to signal an order was ready. "I'll be right back," she said, hurrying off.

Judy nodded at her back and sat down at the counter. Robert waved at her through the window. "How's it going?" he called to her.

"It's good," she answered. "I just stopped in to get some coffee to go before I get to the track. Once things get going I probably won't have time for anything."

Linda came back, wiping her hooves on her apron. She filled a styrofoam cup with coffee and sat it in front of her with cream and sugar close by. "It's going to be a madhouse," she agreed. The doorbell rang as more customers came in. "See?" She hurried away to seat them.

Judy's nose twitched. Her sense of smell might not be as good as Nick's but it didn't need to be when fish patties were on the grill. "Can I get some of those to go?" she called.

"Way ahead of you," Robert grinned.

She grinned back then busied herself fixing her coffee and putting the lid on. Robert came out with a bag and plopped it in front of her. "On the house," he smiled. Linda was coming with an order and the doorbell rang again as more customers came in.

Through the window Judy could see headlights as other cars pulled in and knew it was time to go; the breakfast rush was starting. "Thanks!" she sang gaily, grabbing the bag and her coffee. "I'll see you at the track!" Robert and Linda waved briefly at her.

Judy pulled out of the parking, seeing more trucks and cars pulling in as she left. She shook her head when she saw one of them was a news van. It looked like the press was getting an early start too.

The smell of Robert's delicious fish patties filled the truck before she made it to the race track. Nick pulled in behind her as she was getting out. "I smell fish patties," he exclaimed excitedly getting out of the truck.

"Is that all you can smell?" she asked in a teasing voice then was immediately embarrassed at herself when he gave her a knowing grin. Before they could say or do anything else their assistants, hired for the day, swarmed the truck to get the boxes of supplies and equipment.

The next few hours were indeed a madhouse just as they'd predicted. There were a million things to do to get ready.

As the sun crept over the horizon, street sweepers, their yellow hazard lights rotating on top, were going around the track to make sure it was clean. Crews armed with brooms moved up and down the stands, cleaning them off as well while others unfurled pennant flags of all the companies who were sponsoring the race. They were fastened to poles along the top of the grandstands, adding a vibrant splash of color to the otherwise drab seating.

Racers began arriving with their cars in tow or on trailers. They pulled into open-sided red and blue tents set up side by side to form a long, covered garage for them. The sound of engines revving soon saturated the crisp morning air along with the smell of rubber, oil, and gas as the racers began a series of last minutes checks and tests. Several gas trucks, donated by local companies, covered with their logos, were lined up to form a temporary gas station.

The concession stands, most of them run by the catering companies that owned the food trucks in town, were opening their windows, firing up their grills, and starting up their generators, adding to the growing clamor. Mouth watering odors soon wafted around the track, drawing the arriving crowds with their tantalizing offerings. Lines quickly formed, creating a maze other arrivals had to thread on their way in.

Vendors hawking programs, toys, souvenirs, hats, flags, sunglasses, towels, t-shirts, and race branded merchandise of every description yelled out for customers from their own stalls, or meandered through the crowds with portable tables full of merchandise hanging around their necks. The track wasn't even officially opened yet and it was already half-full.

As technicians from Gazelle's advance team added to the growing noise with sound checks, and the occasional ear-piercing scream of feedback, news choppers began circling overhead, first one followed by another then another until they filled the sky like a flock of starlings.

The sun was above the horizon and climbing when a Gazelle's motorcade arrived promptly at 8am, surrounded by dozens of police cars and motorcycles, their lights flashing. They drove through the narrow entrance onto the track then into the pit area to the infield where the enormous stage was almost finished. The crowd went wild with a thunderous roar when Gazelle emerged. She waved at the them then vanished into a huge tent with Tyrone hard on her heels.

Chief Bogo, wearing his dress uniform, climbed out of a police van. He nodded at someone inside and Mayor Lionheart stepped, his wife on his arm. He gave a politician's wave to the crowd the disappeared into the giant tent. Bogo saw Nick and headed over.

"It's getting close to time for you to get changed," Bogo informed him curtly with a tap on his wrist watch.

Nick shook his head. "I've still got a dozen things to do," he argued. "It'll just take me a few more minutes then I'll be done."

Bogo reached over his head and snagged his clipboard out of his surprised hands. "Wrong," he thundered down at him. "You're done now!" He smiled to take some of the sting out of his words. "Being late for your own wedding is about the dumbest thing you could ever do. Git!"

Nick gave up. "Sir, yes sir," he said. He headed for the tent.

Finnick was waiting for him with his tuxedo, his over-sized ears twitching with impatience. "Where have you been?" he snapped in his gravely voice when Nick came in. "The pre-race stuff starts in less than 20 minutes!"

Nick shook his head in amusement. At least that hadn't changed. "Take it easy, big guy. I'm here now and it only takes a couple minutes for me to dress." Suiting actions to words he slipped out of his regular clothes and began throwing on his tux. Finnick had to help him with the bow tie, ordering him to lie down so he could tie it, but true to his word he was soon changed and ready to go. "How do I look?" he asked, turning around slowly.

"Not bad . . . for a cop," Finnick said.

McHorn stuck his head around the partition separating them from the rest of the tent. "Hey Wilde, your mom is here." He eyed Nick's tuxedo. "What's with the monkey suit? You getting married or something?"

"Or something," Nick temporized. "Tell my Mom to come on in."

"Sure thing." McHorn pulled the partition further back. "He's right in here, Ma'am. Go on in."

Faye came in wearing her Sunday-go-to-meeting best. McHorn dropped the curtain behind her and she paused to look him over. Tears started form. She dabbed at them. "My little boy, all grown up, a big strong cop, and getting married too," she sniffled. She rushed over to wrap her arms around him in a fierce hug.

He was startled for an instant then his emotions got the better of him and he hugged her back, nearly lifting her off her feet. She squeaked in surprise. "When did you get so strong?" she gasped when he let her go. He just smiled and shook his head, not trusting himself to speak.

She put a soft hand on his face. "Judy is getting the pick of the litter," she smiled proudly.

He grimaced. "Mom! I'm an only child."

She patted his arm. "You know what I mean."

He laughed. "Yeah, I know." He hugged her again. "Are Judy's parents here yet? I didn't see them come in." Behind her, Finnick hooked a thumb over his should and waved goodbye. He slid out through the partitions to give them some privacy.

"They've been here for quite a while," she told him. "They told me Judy had some big shot in Tundratown send a limousine to pick them up. They'd never been in one before; they couldn't stop talking about it."

Nick fought to keep his surprise from showing. "Uh, great," he managed. Judy had asked Mister Big to pick up her parents? Since when did cops ask crime bosses for favors? Between the shopping trips with Fru-Fru and now this, she was spending a little too much time with them for his comfort. He was gonna have to ask her to cool it – after the wedding of course. He smiled at his Mom. "We've got some seats set aside for families right down front in the VIP section. McHorn can show you where they are." He pulled the curtain back and escorted her out.

McHorn was standing close enough to be available when they emerged but not so close he'd intrude on their privacy. He spotted them and hurried over. "Ready for me to show you to your seat, Mrs. Wilde?"

She smiled up at him. "Thank you, Officer McHorn." She kissed Nick on the cheek then followed McHorn outside.

He waved at her as she disappeared then looked around. Lawrence and Shelly were standing with Gazelle, Tyrone, and their dancers. In the middle of their conversation his phone rang and he had to answer it. He lifted a finger at Nick when he spotted him, then suddenly turned his whole attention to whatever the mammal on the phone was telling him. All at once the polar bear was nearly jumping up and down with excitement.

Nick headed their way, slowed down by fellow officers congratulating him on the race track and how well everything was going. Fangmeyer, assigned today as part of Mayor Lionheart's security, whispered, "Congratulations on the marriage."

By the time Nick got to Lawrence he'd hung up and was talking rapid fire to Shelly. "What's going on?" he asked everyone and no one.

"We don't know," Tyrone grumped. "They're so busy speaking 'science' to each other we can't figure out what they're saying."

Nick felt his pain. Every other word out of their mouths seemed to have _ology_ or _ism_ or _para_ in it. Or maybe it was _endo_ , they were talking so fast it was hard to tell. "Hey!" he yelled. "What's going on?"

They jumped in surprise.

"What? Oh! Hi, Nick," Lawrence said. "I just got a call from the answering service at the university. They got messages from all four of the university labs we sent the samples to. They all confirmed Hippocore's results; it _is_ the meteor!"

Nick broke into a huge grin. "That's great! Now you'll _really_ have something to tell everyone when you get out there."

A familiar movie star voice interrupted him from behind. "And what would that be?"

Nick turned. Lionheart was standing over him, managing to look worried and confident all at the same time. "Hello, Mister Mayor." He glanced at the clock hanging from one of the tent poles. It was almost 8:30. "Professor Huffer just received confirmation of something that has a direct bearing on our street racers and future problems like them. He'll have to explain it when he and Professor Fürlong address the crowd." He gestured at the clock. "But for right now, we need to start heading out to the dignitaries box."

He tried to lead the Mayor outside as if it were a foregone conclusion but Lionheart wasn't having any. "What's going on?" he nearly roared. "Confirmation of what?" He looked around. "And where's Hopps?"

"She had to change," Gazelle butted in quickly. She wound her arm through the Mayor's. "Won't you be my escort to the platform? Please?" she begged coquettishly, batting her eyes.

He heaved a frustrated sigh, then summoned a pained smile. "Of course. It would be my pleasure." He let her lead him away, giving Nick the evil eye over his shoulder.

Tyrone and his fellow dancers shook their heads in amusement. "She always gets her way when she does that," he chuckled. He gestured at the other dancers. "Come on guys, let's get out there before she convinces him to abdicate or something." A huge roar outside told them the crowd had just spotted her.

After they left, Nick looked around. "Where are Robert and Linda?"

"They're already in the dignitaries box on the platform," Shelly told him. "They're doing the catering there, remember?"

Nick shook his head. "No. To be honest I'd forgotten." He fixed them with a stare as they all followed Tyrone's dancers. "They're not actually working are they? This is their wedding day too."

"Of course not," Lawrence assured him. "Robert cooked everything before they came but they hired some temp help to do the serving."

Things started happening very fast after that. No sooner had they taken their seats than it was time for Nick to get up and get the ball rolling. Officially Mayor Lionheart was the Master of Ceremonies but someone had to introduce him first.

Nick tried not to let his surprise show when he saw the size of the crowd. He knew they'd sold out, installed some extra grandstands, then sold out of those too, but it was still amazing to see every seat filled, and mammals standing in every possible spot besides. It was the biggest crowed he'd ever seen.

He stepped up to the microphone and the crowd burst into wild cheers as his presence signaled the start of the day's activities. He gave them a moment to quiet down then thumped on the microphone. "Thank you, thank you. Thank you everyone. Alright, settle down, settle down." When they kept on cheering he gave Chief Bogo an apologetic look then leaned over the microphone and bellowed, "Shut it!"

Shocked silence held for a split second then laughter slowly rolled through the grandstands, but it had the desired effect; they began quieting and sitting down. He saw a number of puzzled looks being directed at his tuxedo, because it seemed so out of place.

The raised platform occupied the middle of the infield. In front of it were several rows of VIP seats, then tent-garage, then the pit, then the track, and finally the grandstands. Powerful speakers on the edges of the platform, set up for Gazelle's concert, broadcast his voice over the whole area, all the way to the fringes of the parking lots outside.

"Thank you," he started. "Today's Master of Ceremonies needs no introduction . . . so I'm going to introduce him anyway!" The crowd was in a good mood so they laughed dutifully at his joke. Nick waited a moment or two. "He's a direct descendant of Mars, one of Zootopia's Founders, the Mayor of our city, and one of the most photogenic mammals of all time; Mayor Lionheart!" He waved the Mayor forward.

Lionheart was at his best as he strode to the podium, smiling and waving, shaking paws with Nick, and posing with him to give the reporters time to take their pictures. Ever the consummate politician, he made sure they were done and he was at the mic before the applause died down.

"Thank you for that _unnecessary_ introduction, Detective Wilde. Thank you very much," he began, his smooth voice rolling out across the field. "All of Zootopia owes you and Detective Hopps a debt of gratitude for recognizing the gravity of the problem with the street racers and coming up with this magnificent solution." He gestured grandly at the track. He looked around. "Detective Hopps is around here someplace but I'm told she had to change clothes. I guess working does that," he grinned at the cameras.

Laughter rippled through the stands.

The teleprompter flickered to the next slide, the slender, almost invisible glass screens on either side of the podium reflecting the words written by his staff. Unbeknownst to him though, Nick and Judy had made a few changes.

Lionheart glanced at the screens. "One thing we've all wondered about is the extent to which problems like this might be inherent in our biology. I know you're probably as curious as I am, so here to explain it to us are the two professors from the Department of Anthropology at Zootopia University, Dr. Lawrence Huffer and his colleague Dr. Shelly Fürlong."

The crowd applauded politely. Most of them were only there to see Gazelle or watch the race but a lot of them _were_ curious.

Lawrence and Shelly took the podium, standing side-by-side. Taking turns they explained their theory about mammals being mutated by a meteor crash 2000 years ago instead of evolving over millions of years. They covered the fragmentary evidence of rare minerals in the ground, the sudden rise of intelligence in all mammals at exactly the same time – but only in mammals; birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and insects were unaffected.

Then they began covering the paper Judy had found online, giving the rundown on predator-prey relationships over the years, starting with Mars and Venus, through the pirate Redmane and Elvira, and the few other suspected couples scattered throughout history. Then they told the crowd about finding contemporary predator-prey couples.

Lionheart frowned in puzzlement at that part, glancing suspiciously at Nick. Nick shook his head that he and Judy weren't one of the couples the professors had interviewed.

The crowd was leaning forward intently, fascinated by the material they were presenting. When they got to the dietary parallels between modern predators and prey, a buzz of excitement ran through the stands as everyone began comparing notes with their neighbors. This was something they could all identify with.

Lawrence and Shelly emphasized the mutations they'd undergone didn't _demand_ predator-prey romances, they simply opened to the door to _allowing_ them, then they quickly ran through the four steps that had to take place in order for them to develop and their efforts to interview modern couples.

Finally they dropped the bombshell about the meteor, culminating with the message Lawrence had received just minutes ago that Dr. Hippocore's findings had been corroborated by four different labs at universities around the country.

The crowd was buzzing with confusion mixed with excitement.

"You see," Shelly was concluding, "our origins, the problems with the street racers, our diets, and even predator-prey romances are all part-and-parcel of the same issue. They're all intertwined."

Lionheart was preparing to stand when Lawrence stopped him with another bombshell. "And just to show you what we're saying is true, there are four predator-prey couples here today, starting with us." He turned to Shelly and kissed her briefly. The crowd stared in shock.

Before they could react, Gazelle and Tyrone stood up. A stunned hush settled over the crowd as they watch them stride to the podium to join Lawrence and Shelly. The professors stepped aside to make room for them.

Gazelle looked out over the crowd. "I know many of you have heard rumors about me and Tyrone. We are here to put those rumors to rest." She paused. "They are true." And right there, in front of the crowd and the cameras, she kissed him.

The crowd exploded as flashbulbs went off everywhere. Some animals were yelling at them in anger, while others silently shook their heads in disappointment. But others, more than they'd expected, were cheering for them. Some were even clapping.

Then Robert and Linda stood up. Their approach to the podium, unnoticed at first, finally drew the crowd's attention as they got close and they quieted expectantly.

Gazelle told the crowd, "But we are not the only ones." She and Tyrone moved aside.

Robert addressed them. "I'm Robert Padfoot and this is Linda Stepps. We own the Hoof & Claw diner just down the road from here, and we used to work at Garlic & Clove Trucking Company until we were fired for being in love." Following the other's lead he leaned over and kissed Linda.

Flashbulbs exploded again.

Nick smelled Judy before she even sat down beside him, her long white wedding dress rustling as she moved. He looked at her, nearly blinded by her beauty and smiled. She nodded, her eyes alive with fear and anticipation. They stood up together and moved toward the podium. The crowd spotted them instantly; their obvious wedding attire provoking gasps of disbelief.

In the VIP section below the stage, Faye tensed as they came forward but Judy's parents began crying.

Their friends made way for them. Nick didn't bother saying anything; everyone knew who they were. He drew Judy into his arms and kissed her in full view of the world.

 **For more of my writing, visit my web site**

 **Scribe of Texas (all one word, no spaces) period, then the letters c-o-m**


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